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THE -YOUNG- FARMER'S 



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(VI^LETON J • JYNDE 




Class 
Book 



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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT; 



THE YOUNG FARMER'S PRACTICAL LIBRARY 

EDITED BY ERNEST INGERSOLL 



HOME WATERWORKS 



BY 



CARLETON J. LYNDE 



The Young Farmer's Practical 
Library 

EDITED BY ERNEST INGERSOLL 
Cloth i6mo Illustrated each 7$ cents net. 

From Kitchen to Garret. By Virginia 

Terhune Van de Water. 

Neighborhood Entertainments. By Re nee 
B. Stern, of the Congressional Library. 

Home Waterworks. By Carleton J. 
Lynde, Professor of Physics in Mac- 
donald College, Quebec. 

Animal Competitors. By Ernest Ingersoix. 

The Farm Mechanic. By L. W. Chase, 
Professor of Farm Mechanics in the 
University of Nebraska. 

The Satisfactions of Country Life. By 
Dr. James W. Robertson, Principal of 
Macdonald College, Quebec. 

Roads, Paths and Bridges. By L. W. 
Page, Chief of the Office of Public 
Roads, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 

Health on the Farm. By Dr. L. F. 

Harris, Secretary Georgia State Board 
^of Health. 

Electricity on the Farm. By Frederick 
M. Conlee. 

Co-operation Among Farmers. By John 
Lee Coulter. 



HOME WATERWORKS 



A MANUAL OF WATER SUPPLY 
IN COUNTRY HOMES 



BY 



CARLETON J. LYNDE 

PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS IN MACDONALD COLLEGE, QUEBEC 



ILLUSTRATED 



Iflew Jl?orft 

STURGIS & WALTON 

COMPANY 

1911 

All rights reserved 



o\ * 



V 



Copyright 1911 
By STURGIS & WALTON COMPANY 



Set up and electrotyped. Published February. 1911 



H-W71- 



©CI.A2S380I 



INTEODUCTION 

BY THE GENEBAL. EDITOB 

This is the day of the small book. There is 
much to be done. Time is short. Information 
is earnestly desired, but it is wanted in compact 
form, confined directly to the subject in view, 
authenticated by real knowledge, and, withal, 
gracefully delivered. It is to fulfill these con- 
ditions that the present series has been pro- 
jected — to lend real assistance to those who are 
looking about for new tools and fresh ideas. 

It is addressed especially to the man and 
woman at a distance from the libraries, exhibi- 
tions, and daily notes of progress, which are 
the main advantage, to a studious mind, of liv- 
ing in or near a large city. The editor has had 
in view, especially, the farmer and villager 
who is striving to make the life of himself and 
his family broader and brighter, as well as to 
increase his bank account; and it is therefore 
in the humane, rather than in a commercial di- 
rection, that the Library has been planned. 



vi INTEODUCTION 

The average American little needs advice on 
the conduct of his farm or business; or, if he 
thinks he does, a large supply of such help in 
farming and trading as books and periodicals 
can give, is available to him. But many a man 
who is well to do and knows how to continue 
to make money, is ignorant how to spend it in 
a way to bring to himself, and confer upon his 
wife and children, those conveniences, comforts 
and niceties which alone make money worth 
acquiring and life worth living. He hardly 
realizes that they are within his reach. 

For suggestion and guidance in this direction 
there is a real call, to which this series is an 
answer. It proposes to tell its readers how 
they can make work easier, health more secure, 
and the home more enjoyable and tenacious 
of the whole family. No evil in American rural 
life is so great as the tendency of the young 
people to leave the farm and the village. The 
only way to overcome this evil is to make rural 
life less hard and sordid ; more comfortable and 
attractive. It is to the solving of that problem 
that these books are addressed. Their central 
idea is to show how country life may be made 



INTRODUCTION vii 

richer in interest, broader in its activities and 
its outlook, and sweeter to the taste. 

To this end men and women who have given 
each a lifetime of study and thought to his or 
her speciality, will contribute to the Library, 
and it is safe to promise that each volume will 
join with its eminently practical information a 
still more valuable stimulation of thought. 

Eenest Ingebsoll. 



INTRODUCTION 

If I lived in the country without " water on 
tap in the house,' ' I would read this book again 
with care, use the information it contains and 
provide in an economical way this one of the 
important aids towards satisfactions in house- 
keeping. The volume in its subject matter and 
the manner in which that is presented is a val- 
uable guide book to anyone who is thinking of 
installing a simple water-system or of improv- 
ing one already in existence. The explanations 
are so clear and complete that the ordinary in- 
telligent layman is enabled to understand the 
ways and means to be used to accomplish an 
end which is desirable for every home. 

Water for drinking purposes is a necessity. 
Therefore that is always provided in quantity 
although sometimes doubtful in purity. For 
other household uses the supply is often scanty 
and not infrequently obtained with unnecessary 

ix 



x INTEODUCTION 

labour and in winter weather at the cost of com- 
fort to the women. Want of thinking of the 
real advantages to the family, want of knowl- 
edge of the moderate cost and want of informa- 
tion as to how to go about it, are the chief 
reasons why this means of grace for health and 
good living has been neglected in the country. 
Water in the house, to use lavishly for all whole- 
some conveniences, seems at first thought be- 
yond the means of frugal people, who have 
earned by hard labour all they have to spend. 
It looks to some, who have not closely consid- 
ered the costs and the benefits, like an extrava- 
gance. Instead of that it is one of the greatest 
of house economies. Almost every farmer 
could afford the luxury of all water conven- 
iences in his home. These are real luxuries, 
life their fellows, sunshine, wholesome food 
and fresh air, which do not weaken the muscu- 
lar, mental or moral fibres of life. When one 
has been compelled to use any of these debased 
for a time how satisfying is the pleasure of 
purity and abundance. 

As an investment for the home I know of 
nothing likely to yield so much in return in 



INTRODUCTION xi 

saving women's strength, in increasing house 
comforts, in preserving health, in imparting 
satisfactions in housework and in elevating the 
general tone of the material side of living. 
The vague impressions of cost which prevent 
action should be replaced by adequate knowl- 
edge of the essential facts. 

The chapters on sources of water supply, and 
their protection against defilement, are illumi- 
nating and should help to prevent disease and 
what is perhaps quite as damaging. "The 
effect of impure water is much like that of a 
dilute poison; it lessens the body's power to 
resist disease." 

The book is suitable for reading and study 
by children in continuation classes and in High 
Schools. Everyone would be all the better 
for having clearer ideas regarding water, its 
sources, its uses and how the house supply may 
be protected against dangerous contamination, 
as Dr. Lynde says in Chapter I, — "All of this 
tends to bring about that for which we are all 
striving, a better home and a better chance for 
the children.' ' The Bible says in the book of 
Eevelations, — "And he showed me a river of 



xii INTEODUCTION 

water of life, pure as crystal, proceeding out of 
the throne of God and of the Lamb." 

An abundant supply of pure water in the home 
is one of the means within reach for bringing 
it nearer heaven. 

Jas. W. Eobebtson. 
Feby., 1911, 

Ottawa, Canada. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTEE PAGE 

I Value of Water Indoors 3 

II First Steps in Kitchen Equipment .... 8 

III Sources of Water Supply — Underground Wa- 

ter 27 

IV Sources of Water Supply — Wells and Their 

Requirements 36 

»V Sources of Water Supply — Springs, Rivers, 

Lakes and Cisterns 58 

VI Properties of Air Applied in Pumps ... 68 

VII Pumps and Their Action 84 

VIII Standard Types of Pumps 96 

IX Running Water — Gravity Supply and the Ele- 
vated Tank 120 

X Running Water — The Pneumatic Tank . .132 
XI The Siphon — The Hydrostatic Paradox — The 

Kinetic Theory 147 

XII Methods of Pumping — Hand Power, Horse 

Power and Windmills 159 

XIII Methods of Pumping — The Hydraulic Ram . 181 

XIV Methods of Pumping — The Hot-Air Engine . 193 
XV Methods of Pumping — The Gasoline Engine 

and Steam Engine 204 

XVI Methods of Pumping— The Electric Motor . 221 

XVII Water Power 231 

XVIII Plumbing and Sewage Disposal 244 

Acknowledgment 257 

Firms Dealing in Water Supply and Plumbing 

Materials 261 

Index 267 



HOME WATERWORKS 



HOME WATERWORKS 

CHAPTER I 
VALUE OF WATER INDOORS 

Thousands of men living in the towns, vil- 
lages and rural parts of the United States and 
Canada, out of reach of a public water system, 
have equipped their homes with water-supply 
conveniences equal to any found in cities. 
Thousands more who could well afford to do 
so and who could do so advantageously, have 
not done so for various reasons — because the 
idea has not occurred to them, or because they 
do not know how to go about it, or because they 
mistakenly think the expense too great. It is 
hoped that this book will prove useful to many 
of these. 

An abundance of water in the house is a com- 
fort to every member of the family and a labor- 
saving convenience for those who do the daily 

3 



4 HOME WATERWORKS 

recurring work of the household. This latter 
is the strongest reason for placing a water sup- 
ply system in the home, — it is a labor-saving 
convenience for women. 

This is the age of labor-saving machinery, 
and in no field of activity is this more apparent 
than on the farm. There the man's work is 
lightened by the use of the gang-plow, cultiva- 
tor, disk harrow, horse rake, hay tedder, mower, 
binder, corn harvester, potato digger, root cut- 
ter, threshing machine, gasoline engine, etc. 
The advantage of labor-saving machinery in 
man's work is evident and easily reckoned in 
time and money saved. The advantage of la- 
bor-saving devices in the home is not so easily 
estimated. The mother's labor is so freely 
given that we are in the habit of considering 
it of no money value, whereas, when we think of 
it seriously, we realize that it is the most val- 
uable asset of the home. 

The energy a mother devotes to the work of 
the home and the care of her children is above 
money valuation, and anything that conserves 
this energy and makes it more effective is a 
gain to the whole family; labor-saving devices 



VALUE OF WATER INDOORS 5 

in the home are an aid in this direction, and a 
water supply system is one of the greatest of 
these labor-saving devices. With a supply of 
hot and cold water on tap, with a kitchen sink 
and set laundry tubs, much of the drudgery of 
work in the kitchen is eliminated, and the en- 
ergy thus saved is free to be devoted to the 
better care of the children and to the enjoyment 
of life with them. 

In the normal home there are two chief work- 
ers — the man and the woman. The man, by 
his labor, provides the raw material; the 
woman, by her labor, produces from this ma- 
terial the flower called home life. The ad- 
vantage of labor-saving machinery in man's 
work, on the farm or elsewhere, is not that he 
does less work, but that he does more and better 
work and still has time and energy left for 
higher forms of work, for self -improvement, 
and for enjoyment in life. The same is true 
of labor-saving appliances in the home; the 
mother does the same work in less time and 
with less expenditure of energy, and the time 
and energy saved are devoted to the higher 
needs of her children, to self -improvement, and 



6 HOME WATEEWORKS 

to the enjoyment of life with her family. All 
of this tends to bring about that for which we 
are all striving, a better home and a better 
chance for the children. 

The home in the country or small town has 
many advantages over one in the city; it has 
fresh food, pure air, plenty of sunshine, and 
God's good out-of-doors. In one respect, how- 
ever, the average city home has an advantage 
over one in the country; it has a water-supply 
equipment. Happily there has been a great im- 
provement in this condition of affairs in the 
last few years. Thousands of homes in the 
country have been equipped with water-supply 
conveniences; many others are being so 
equipped; and for still others, such an equip- 
ment is being planned. It is hoped that this 
book will be of service in aiding this good work. 

When a man sits down to plan a water sup- 
ply system for his home, he must decide a num- 
ber of questions, namely: how to obtain pure 
water in sufficient quantity; how to bring the 
water to the house ; how to equip the house ; and 
how much it will all cost. 

To help answer these questions, the problem 



VALUE OF WATEE INDOORS 7 

of water supply is dealt with as follows: — 
Chapter II takes up the equipment of the 
kitchen and shows that many of the comforts 
of a convenient water system may be had at 
moderate cost. In Chapters III to V, the 
sources of water supply are discussed, showing 
how pure water may be obtained and how it 
may be kept pure. Chapters VI to XVEI deal 
with the various pumping and water-supply ap- 
pliances used in bringing water to the house 
and barns ; and in order to show not only how 
they work but why they work as they do, the 
appliances are explained from the standpoint 
of the laws of nature upon which they are based. 
When a man understands the "why" of the 
various appliances, he is able: first, to choose 
with intelligence the equipment best suited to 
his own needs ; second, to make any alterations 
needed to increase the efficiency of the system 
he proposes to instal; and third, to keep the 
apparatus in good running order after it is 
installed. Chapter XVIII deals with the equip- 
ment of the bathroom and water-closet, and with 
sewage disposal. 



CHAPTER II 
FIEST STEPS IN KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 

In many homes a convenient water system 
would be installed at once, were it not for the 
impression that the cost is necessarily very 
great. From the illustrations given below it 
will be seen that this impression is erroneous 
and that many of the comforts of abundant 
water may be had for a small outlay in 
materials. 

In the typical country or village home the 
drinking water is obtained from a well and the 
water for washing from a cistern. Both pumps 
are outside of the house and all the water used 
must be carried in pails. This is hard work 
and it is usually the women who do it. In all 
kinds of weather, fair or foul, in rain, snow 
and slush, this water must be carried and the 
women do it. A little money well spent will 
bring this water into the house and add much 
to the health and comfort of the women folk. 

8 






KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 



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1 

I 

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10 HOME WATEKWOBKS 

Cistern pump and sink in the kitchen. If 
the cistern is just outside the house, as is 
usually the case, a few feet of piping will bring 
the water from it into the kitchen and allow the 
pump to be placed at one end of the kitchen 
sink. The cost of this is as follows : 

From cistern to pump, 20 feet 1^4 inch gal- 
vanized iron pipe at 10 cents per foot $2.00 

Pitcher pump, 3 inch, brass lined 1.85 

Porcelain lined sink 18 X 30 inches fitted for 

iy 2 inch lead trap 2.35 

Lead trap, iy 2 inch, with iron pipe connections 1.40 
From trap to drain 25 feet 1% inch galvanized 

iron pipe at 12 cents per foot 3.00 

50 feet 3 inch drain tile at $14 per 1,000. 70 

Total $11.30 

The prices given throughout this book are 
for materials only, and do not include the 
freight or cost of installing. The freight is 
usually a small item and the work of installing 
the apparatus may be done by the householder. 
All the large dealers will cut and thread the 
piping to the required lengths, if measurements 
are sent to them. The charge for this is 
nominal, generally under five cents per cut and 



KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 11 

thread. Any man, then, who can use a brace 
and bit and a pipe-wrench can instal the ap- 
paratus. 

The prices quoted were obtained partly by 
correspondence with dealers and partly from 
the catalogues of large retail-houses. For the 
convenience of those interested in water-supply 
equipment, a list of dealers in water-supply and 
plumbing materials is given at the back of the 
book. Catalogues and further information as 
to prices, etc., may be had by writing to these 
dealers, or to others. 

The pitcher pump is described on page 96. 
It will lift water by suction fifteen or twenty 
feet. If the lift is greater than this, a well- 
pump such as that described on page 98 is used. 

The sink is an important part of the kitchen 
equipment. In a great many houses, not only 
is all the water for drinking and washing car- 
ried into the house, but all the waste water is 
carried out; this means more needless drudgery 
for the women. A kitchen sink attached to a 
good drain, saves all the labor of carrying out 
the liquid wastes, and at the same time disposes 
of these wastes in an inoffensive manner. An 



12 HOME WATERWORKS 

S-shaped trap is placed under the sink to pre- 
vent the foul air of the drain from coming up 
into the kitchen. A little water remains in the 
trap after each discharge and makes what is 
called a water-seal, which keeps back the foul 
air. 

A proper method of disposing of sewage is 
a very important part of any plumbing system. 
The drain shown in Fig. 1 is made as follows : 
A one and one-half inch galvanized iron pipe 
runs from the trap to about twenty feet from 
the house, where it empties into fifty feet of 
three inch tile set with open joints eight inches 
below the surface of the ground and at a slope 
of about three feet in one hundred feet; here 
the drain ends. 

The operation of this drain or sewage dis- 
posal plant, as we might call it, is as follows. 
The liquid waste enters the tile drain and 
gradually soaks out through the joints into the 
soil. The water disappears, but the organic 
impurities are held by the soil grains and serve 
as food for the millions of bacteria which live 
in the soil near the surface. These bacteria 
turn the impurities into harmless substances. 



KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 13 

The tile drain is placed with the top only eight 
inches below the surface in order to take ad- 
vantage of the good work done by the soil bac- 
teria, which are most numerous near the sur- 
face. If the soil about the house is a heavy 
clay, through which water does not pass read- 
ily, the tile should be placed in a trench, about 
two feet wide and one and a half feet deep, 
filled with sand or loam, the top of the tile being 
not over eight inches below the surface. 

The drain should be placed on the side of 
the house opposite to the well, and where the 
ground has a gentle slope away from the house. 
It should be placed where it will not be plowed 
up, as under a lawn or under the grass at the 
side of a path or road. 

This drain will take care of the wastes from 
sink, laundry tubs, etc., in the kitchen of a 
moderate-sized family of, say, six or eight 
people. For a larger family the tile drain may 
be lengthened to seventy-five or one hundred 
feet. It will not take care of the sewage from 
a water closet. Various methods of doing this 
are described in the chapter on sewage dis- 
posal. 



14 HOME WATERWORKS 

In cold climates where such a drain might 
freeze in winter, it may be protected by a heavy 
covering of barnyard manure; or the wastes 
from the kitchen may be carried to a cesspool 
through fifty feet of three-inch glazed tile 
placed four feet underground at as steep a 
grade as possible. 

This kitchen equipment, consisting of cistern 
pump, sink and drain, can be installed at a cost 
of less than twelve dollars for materials. It 
adds to the comfort of the home, by doing away 
with the drudgery of carrying the cistern water 
into the house, and the waste water out of the 
house. A further comfort is added to the home 
by bringing the well water into the kitchen. 

II. Well pump in the kitchen. The labor 
of carrying the drinking water may be saved 
by placing the well pump at the other end of 
the kitchen sink. This also gives another 
source of water supply. If the cistern water 
fails in a drought, the well water may be used 
for all kitchen purposes until a fresh supply is 
on hand. The cost of this depends of course on 
the distance from the well to the house, and also 
on the kind of pump used. If the well is, say, 



KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 



15 




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16 HOME WATERWORKS 

seventy-five feet from the house, and the verti- 
cal part of the pipe is twenty-five feet long, one 
hundred feet of piping is needed. The cost is : 

100 feet 1}£" galvanized iron pipe at 10 cents 

per foot $10.00 

1%" foot valve and strainer 25 

•Well pump 3.00 



Total $13.25 

The foot valve is placed on the lower end of 
suction pipe in the well and keeps the suction 
pipe full of water, so that the water comes 
quickly when the pump is started. 

The equipment described under I and II 
above, decreases the work of the women in the 
home, since it saves them the heavy labor of 
carrying great pails of water into and out of 
the house. If the kitchen is supplied with run- 
ning water, the work in the home is still further 
lightened, since the women obtain all the water 
needed by simply opening a tap, and the labor 
of pumping may be done by the men of the 
family or by some form of power pumping. 

III. Running water in the kitchen. A supply 
of running water (Fig. 3) may be obtained by 



KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 17 

placing in the attic or on the second floor 
a storage tank into which water is pumped 
from the cistern or well. In many cases an 
oil barrel is used as a storage tank; the head 
is broken in, the oil drained out, and that which 
clings to the sides burned off. For a moderate- 
sized family, one barrel of water is ample for one 
day's use in the kitchen. When a larger sup- 
ply is needed two or more barrels may be con- 
nected at or near the bottom by one-inch pip- 
ing, or a wooden or steel storage tank may 
be used. 

The water is pumped into the tank by means 
of a force pump at the sink, and may be drawn 
for use through a tap in the spout or through 
a separate tap. A small telltale pipe is in- 
serted near the top of the tank and drains into 
the sink, to indicate when the tank is full. 

If the cistern is not large enough to supply 
sufficient water for use at all times, the svstem 
should be arranged to use well water part of 
the time. This may be done, either by replac- 
ing the well pump, shown in Figs. 2 and 3, by a 
force pump with a pipe leading to the tank, or, 
by so arranging the force pump, shown in Fig. 



18 HOME WATERWOEKS 

3, that it may be used to pump either well water 
or cistern water. To do this the well suction 
pipe is joined to the cistern suction pipe by 
means of a lateral "Y," and a gate valve is 
placed in each suction pipe below the (< Y." 
When cistern water is needed the gate valve 
in the cistern suction pipe is opened and that 
in the well suction pipe closed ; when well water 
is needed, the reverse. When both cistern and 
well water are available, the tank may be filled 
with cistern water on days when washing and 
scrubbing are to be done, and with well water 
on other days. 

The cost of the whole equipment shown in 
Fig. 3, including tank, sink, force pump, well 
pump, etc., is approximately as follows. (Some 
of these prices were given under I and II, 
but they are repeated here to avoid confusion) : 

Cistern to force pump, 20' l 1 ^" galvanized 

iron pipe at 10 cents per foot $2.00 

Force pump, 3" brass lined with tap in spout 5.50 
Pump to tank, 18' 1" galvanized iron pipe at 

iy 2 cents per foot 1.35 

Oil barrel . 50 

Telltale pipe, 20 feet %" galvanized iron pipe 
at 3% cents per foot 70 



KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 



19 





20 HOME WATERWOEKS 

Porcelain-lined sink 18 X 30", fitted for 1%" 

lead trap 2.35 

1%" l ea< l trap with connection for iron pipe. . 1.40 
Drain pipe, 25 feet l 1 /^' galvanized iron pipe 

at 12 cents per foot 3.00 

50 feet of 3" drain tile at $14 per thousand. . .70 

Well pump 3.00 

Suction pipe for well pump 100 feet l 1 /^" gal- 
vanized iron pipe at 10 cents per foot 10.00 

Foot valve for suction pipe .25 

Total $30.75 

A few minutes' pumping each morning by 
the men of the family will fill the storage tank 
and provide an ample supply for the day's use. 

Methods of pumping the water by windmill, 
hydraulic ram, gasoline engine, etc., are de- 
scribed in later chapters. 

With the equipment shown in Fig. 3, the well 
water is brought to the kitchen sink ; the cistern 
water is to be had by opening a tap; and all 
waste water is removed by the sink and drain. 
These are great aids to work in the kitchen. 
This equipment is good, but it may be made 
better by adding to it the appliances necessary 
to provide a supply of hot water on tap. A con- 
venient and abundant supply of hot water in 



KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 



21 



the kitchen, is probably the greatest comfort of 
a water supply system. 

IV. Hot water on tap. As soon as the 
kitchen is supplied with water under pressure, 
from a tank in the attic or otherwise, the com- 
fort of an 
abundant sup- 
ply of hot 
water on tap 
may be had 
at a small ad- 
ditio'nal ex- 
pense. The 
extra equip- 
ment needed, 
as shown in 
Fig. 4, is 
a hot-water 
tank, a water- 
front for the kitchen range, and piping to con- 
nect the cold-water supply to the hot-water 
tank, and to deliver the hot water at the 
sink. 

The cost of this hot-water equipment is ap- 
proximately as follows : 




Fig. 4. Running hot water added to 
kitchen equipment. 



22 HOME WATERWORKS 

From cold-water pipe to hot-water tank 10 feet 
%" galvanized iron pipe at 5% cents per 
foot $ .55 

30-gallon galvanized iron hot-water tank with 
stand and brass couplings 6.00 

Hot-water front with connecting pipe 3.00 

From hot-water tank to sink 12 feet %" gal- 
vanized iron pipe at 5% cents per foot .... .65 

Hot-water tap .50 

Total $10.70 

The working of this hot-water system is de- 
scribed on page 244 below. In Fig. 4 the tell- 
tale pipe is shown projecting from the side of 
the building beneath the eaves. It is so placed 
that the water drops in front of a window 
through which it may be seen from the sink. 
This arrangement of the telltale pipe may be 
used in southern houses where there is no dan- 
ger of its freezing in winter. In northern 
houses the arrangement shown in Fig. 2, should 
be used. 

With hot and cold water on tap, but one con- 
venience more is needed to make the kitchen 
equipment complete, namely r a pair of set laun 
dry tubs. 



I 



KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 



23 



V. Set laundry tubs. The work on wash 
day is the hardest of the week, and when the 
ordinary round wooden tubs are used, involv- 
ing, as they do, the heavy labor of lifting, fill- 
ing, and emptying them, the work comes under 
the category of heart-breaking drudgery. 

The women 
may be saved 
all this unnec- 
essary labor 
b y installing 
a pair of 
laundry tubs, 
as shown in 
Fig. 5, each 
tub being 
fitted with 
hot and cold 
water taps 
and a drain 
pipe ; all the labor of filling and emptying them 
is entirely done away with. 

The cost of adding laundry tubs to the equip- 
ment of the kitchen is approximately as fol- 
lows: 




PIPES TO 
WATER FRONT 



PIPE TO WELL 



Fig. 5. 



Set laundry tubs added to 
kitchen equipment. 



24 HOME WATERWORKS 

Two compartment granitine laundry tubs 
48 X 24 X 16", with iron legs, zinc rim, 
brass plug, strainer and waste connection . . $ 5.70 

4 taps at 65 cents each 2.60 

Pipe from cold-water pipe to cold-water taps, 
10 feet %" galvanized iron at 5% cents per 

foot .55 

Pipe from hot-water pipe to hot-water taps, 10 
feet %" galvanized iron pipe at 5% cents 

per foot .55 

Trap l 1 /^" with iron pipe connections 1.40 

Iron pipe to drain, 10 feet 1%" galvanized 
iron pipe at 12 cents per foot 1.20 

Total $12.00 

The laundry tubs take up little room in the 
kitchen, and if they are covered by a pine top, 
hinged at the back, they serve as an extra table 
when not in use as tubs. 

In cold climates it is well to place the tubs, 
the sink and all piping on the side of the 
kitchen not exposed to the weather. At the 
same time it should be remembered that a great 
deal of the cleaning work is done at the sink, 
and therefore it should be placed in a good light. 
The kitchen table, range and sink should be 
close together, and all should be near the pan- 



KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 25 

try, because in preparing the food and washing 
the dishes for a family, three times a day, a 
woman walks miles, and if the distances are 
greater than need be, a great deal of unneces- 
sary labor is involved. 

The water-supply equipment described in 
this chapter is a labor-saving device for women, 
and as with any other labor-saving device the 
gain is two-fold: first, the same work may be 
better done, in less time and with less expendi- 
ture of energy; second, the time and energy 
saved may be devoted to higher work. A 
woman has just so much energy to give to 
the care of her family. If a great deal of it 
is used up in such unnecessary drudgery as 
carrying great pails of water, there is just that 
much less left to devote to the higher needs 
of her children. 

If we consider the question from the money 
standpoint — from which standpoint all things 
must be considered — the total cost of all the 
appliances shown in Fig. 5 is less than fifty-four 
dollars. The material will last as long as the 
house, but if we place the time at forty years, 
the cost amounts to less than one and one-half 



26 HOME WATERWORKS 

dollars a year. This is not a great price to 
pay for the increase in comfort; and when we 
take into account the saving in doctor's bills, 
and the gain in health and happiness to every 
member of the family, the outlay must be looked 
upon as an investment bringing in the finest 
kind of returns. 









CHAPTER m 
SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY 

UNDERGROUND WATER 

In Chapter II we dealt with the question of 
water supply in its relation to the home, and it 
was shown that many of the conveniences of 
running water might be introduced into the 
home at a moderate cost. In this and succeed- 
ing chapters the general question of water sup- 
ply will be considered; beginning with the 
sources of water supply, then taking up the 
various methods of pumping water, and ending 
with a chapter on plumbing and sewage dis- 
posal. 

Sources of water supply. In the beginning 
the earth was stored with water, just as it was 
with air, rock, minerals, etc.; this great store 
of water is the ultimate source of all water sup- 
ply. It is made available to us by the heat of 
the sun which causes water to evaporate (turn 

27 



28 HOME WATERWORKS 

to water vapour) from the surface of land, 
rivers, lakes and oceans ; this vapour mixes with 
the air and moves with it over the earth's sur- 
face; in time it cools, condenses to water, and 
falls as rain or snow. The water which falls 
on the land in the form of rain or snow is the 
source of the water in cisterns, wells, springs, 
rivers and lakes, and these in turn are the im- 
mediate sources of water supply for mankind. 
There are then three factors involved in water 
supply: first, the original store of water on 
the earth; second, the sun which makes this 
water available in the form of rain or snow ; and 
third, cisterns, wells, springs, rivers and lakes, 
which are the immediate sources of water sup- 
ply for mankind. 

When rain falls on a field it does not re- 
main there for all time, but leaves in one or 
all of three ways: it may evaporate, run off 
over the surface, or sink into the ground. 
That which evaporates, mixes with the air and 
in time falls again as rain; the part which 
runs off over the surface, drains into brooks, 
rivers, lakes or the ocean, and is subject to 
evaporation all along its course; that which 



SOUECES OF WATER SUPPLY 29 

sinks into the ground, also finds its way under- 
ground to brooks, rivers, lakes or the ocean, 
and is known as underground or ground water. 

Underground water. We are particularly 
interested in underground water, because the 
great majority of homes in the country obtain 
their water supply from wells, and the wells 
in turn receive their water from the under- 
ground supply. 

A great deal of the earth's surface is made 
up of great layers of soil one on top of another, 
underlaid by further layers of rock. For ex- 
ample, if we should dig down in a field we 
might find the following: a surface layer of 
loam; under it a layer of sandy or gravelly 
soil ; then a layer of clay, then a layer of lime- 
stone, and under it a layer of sandstone, etc. 
These layers are called strata and vary greatly 
in thickness and extent. A pervious or porous 
stratum is one that allows water to move 
through it more or less readily, as for example 
a sandy or gravelly layer. An impervious or 
non-porous stratum is one that does not allow 
water to flow freely through it, such as clay 
and rock strata. 



30 HOME WATERWORKS 

When rain-water falls on a sandy or 
loamy soil it sinks down until it comes to a non- 
porous layer ; it then moves along on top of this 
non-porous stratum very much as surface water 
does on the surface of the ground. There are 
hills, plains and valleys in the underground 
strata which as a rule follow more or less closely 
the contour of the surface stratum, although 
not always. The underground water flows 
down the sides of these hills, over the plains 
and either comes to the surface in the valleys 
in the form of springs, or flows down the valley 
through underground brooks, rivers and lakes, 
until it empties into surface brooks, rivers or 
lakes farther down the valley. 

The movement of the underground water is 
very slow compared to that of water on the sur- 
face, because it moves through a porous layer. 
Only in rare cases are there actual underground 
streams like those on the surface. In some 
limestone regions there are great channels and 
caves in the limestone rock, in which rivers flow 
and lakes are formed, as in the Mammoth 
Cave in Kentucky; but the usual underground 
stream is a seepage through a porous layer 






SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY 31 

along the lowest part of a valley in a non- 
porons layer. 

A porous stratum through which water is 
moving is called a water-bearing stratum, and 
the surface of the underground water is called 
the water table or ground water-level. 

The surface streams are the natural drains 
of the country through which they flow, and 



WELL 






.'<=>' - S- .••.-? A-GROl flSjbQ ; 




at their edge the ground water-level is the 
same as the water-level in the stream. At any 
distance from the stream, however, the ground 
water-level is always higher than the stream- 
level. 

In Fig. 6 a porous water-bearing stratum 
is shown lying on a non-porous stratum. The 
dotted line represents the ground water-level 
which slopes towards the outlet, a spring in the 



32 HOME WATERWORKS 

valley. The arrows show the direction in 
which the water is flowing. A well sunk in 
such a porous layer will be filled with water 
to the height of the ground water-level. This 
level rises in wet weather and falls in dry 
weather, and with it the level of the water 
in the well. The water in the well is con- 
tinuously changing; it flows in on the upper 
side A and out on the lower side B; therefore 
the water in a well one day, is not the same that 
was there the day before. All the rain-water 
that sinks into the porous layer finds its way 
out into the valley through the spring C or 
through other springs similarly situated along 
the side of the valley. This is the source of 
water in springs. 

Artesian wells, bored wells or deep wells. 
The drawing in Fig. 7 represents a series of 
strata of large extent, sometimes hundreds of 
miles. Stratum 3 is porous and has a non- 
porous stratum above it and another below it. 
Water falling on the hill between A and B sinks 
into this stratum, and since it cannot escape 
downwards through the non-porous stratum be- 
low, nor upwards through that above, the water- 



SOURCES OF WATEE SUPPLY 33 

level gradually rises until water flows out over 
the side of the hollow, as at C. If a well is 
sunk into this stratum, water will rise to the 
height of the water level fixed by C, and if 
C is above the level of the surface in the valley, 
the well is a flowing well. Such a flowing well 
is called an artesian well. In Pig. 7, D is a 
flowing welL The top of the well E is above 




Fig. 7. Conditions producing artesian wells. 

the water level fixed by C; therefore water 
does not flow from it, but rises to the water- 
level shown by the dotted line. The nomencla- 
ture of wells is in a rather unsettled condition. 
The name " artesian' ' is properly applied to a 
flowing well, but it is also commonly applied 
to any well that penetrates a non-porous stra- 
tum and taps a lower porous water-bearing 
stratum, whether it flows or not. The name 



34 HOME WATERWORKS 

"deep well" is also applied to these wells, as 
they are usually deeper than the ordinary sur- 
face wells. The well is made by drilling and 
the bore is protected by a wrought iron casing, 
so that they are also called " drilled' ' or 
" cased' ' wells. 

The water which appears in a well has been 
purified by Nature in two ways, namely, by 
evaporation, and by filtration through soil. 
When water evaporates (turns to a vapour) 
from the surface of fields or from brooks, riv- 
ers, lakes or the ocean, all the solid particles 
are left behind, and when this vapour is cooled 
and condensed to rain, it is pure water. If, 
then, after the rain of the first few minutes has 
washed the impurities out of the air, the rain- 
water is caught in clean vessels, it is as pure 
as can be desired. As soon as rain falls on 
the ground, however, it is contaminated by 
solid impurities and bacterial growths. If the 
water sinks into the soil it is again purified, 
partly by the filtering action of the soil, by 
which the solid impurities are strained out, and 
partly by the action of soil bacteria, which re- 
tain and destroy all organic matter. 



1 



SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY 35 

By evaporation then, we are supplied with 
pure water in the form of rain, and by soil 
filtration the water contaminated on the sur- 
face of the ground is purified before it reaches 
the wells; that is, if these wells are properly 
constructed and properly located. 



CHAPTER IV 
SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY 



WELLS AND THEIR REQUIREMENTS 



LOOSE TOP 



Wells are known as dug wells, driven wells 
or drilled we]ls, according to the manner of 
their construction. The purpose in sinking 
a well is not merely to obtain water, but to ob- 
tain water that is pure. Unfortunately, the 
latter point is not always kept 
in mind. 

The dug well. The well 
shown in Fig. 8 is a poor well, 
because: first, the top is loose; 
second, the ground slopes to- 
ward the well; and third, it is 
lined with boards or with stone 
or brick set without cement. 
Since the top is made of loose boards or 
planks, it is possible for insects, field mice, 
toads, frogs, etc., to drop into the well and die 

36 




Fig. 8. 



A poor dug 
well. 



SOUECES OF WATEE SUPPLY 37 

there. The water is then comparable to that 
derived from a graveyard. 

Since the ground slopes towards the well, 
surface washings run into the well during every 
rain shower, and contaminate the water. 

Since the lining is not water-tight, surface 
water seeps into the well without having passed 
through a sufficient depth of soil to purify it 
and the water is contaminated. 

Every well should be tested from time to 
time to determine whether the water is pure, 
and the best method of doing this is to put some 
of the water into a sterilized bottle and send it 
to the government analyst for examination. 
In many cases, however, a poor well may be 
recognized without this, as follows : 

If the well is like that shown in Fig. 8 it is 
a poor well. 

If after a heavy shower the water pumped 
up is cloudy, surface water is running into the 
well without having been properly filtered. The 
well is a poor one. 

If from time to time the remains of dead 
insects, toads, field mice, etc., appear in the 
water pail, it is evident that the top of the 



'38 HOME WATERWORKS 

well is not properly protected. It is a poor 
well. 

If members of the family are in poor health 
a great part of the time, the water may be the 
cause, and a sample should be sent to the govern- 
ment analyst for examination. The effect of 
impure water is much like that of a dilute 
poison; it lessens the body's power to resist 
disease. A strong man who works in the open 
air may be able to throw off this effect, but 
it is hard for women and young children to 
do so. If the resisting power of the body is 
lessened, a person may be taken down with a 
disease not directly caused by impure water 
— tuberculosis (consumption), for instance. 

If members of the family have had typhoid 
fever, or other intestinal trouble, the water is 
probably the cause; the well may be a poor 
one. The water should be analyzed. 

If the stock have been troubled with hog 
cholera or glanders, the water is the probable 
cause. The well is open to suspicion. The 
water should be analyzed. 

If the well is located in a barnyard or within 
one hundred feet of a privy, it is a poor well. 



SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY 39 



.^ 



.0° 



,o v 




-LAYER 

b 









^oipSOILO '■ — 9 • 
° ° ^ . o 1 >J. ' rj 
0- "-">"•' 6 • H * d - • 

WATER CLEyELQ-, 



Errors in locating a well. The well is 
usually placed near the house for convenience. 
For the same reason the privy is also located 
' near the house, with the result that they are fre- 
quently very close together. The well re- 
ceives its water from the underground water 
in the porous layer, but the liquid from the 
privy drains into this same underground 
water, and 
thus the water 
in the well is 
likely to be 
contaminated . 
(See Fig. 9.) 
The soil is a 
wonderful purifier of water, but it cannot do 
the impossible, and sooner or later the well will 
be contaminated if it is too close to the privy. 

Another very common error in locating a 
well is to place it in a barnyard. The sur- 
face of the ground is covered with manure, 
and in wet weather, especially in the spring 
and fall, the water which soaks into the well 
is liquid manure. 

The recommendation of sanitary experts is 




Fig. 9. 



Privy vault contaminating well 
water. 



40 HOME WATERWORKS 

that a well should be located on ground higher 
than a source of contamination, such as a 
privy or barnyard, and at a distance of at 
least one hundred feet from it. 

A good well. A good well is one that gives 
pure water in abundance. Whether the well 
will give an abundance of water depends on 
the nature of the country and somewhat on 
luck or skill in choosing a good spot to sink 
it. If other wells in the neighborhood give a 
good quantity of water, the chances are that 
water will be found in similar quantity at ap- 
proximately the same depth. 

As to whether the water will be pure depends 
on: first, the location of the well; second, its 
construction. The proper location of a well 
has been discussed above ; it should be on higher 
ground than any source of contamination and 
at least one hundred feet from it. The proper 
construction of a well is such that no surface 
water can enter it without having been filtered 
by passing through a good depth of soil. It is 
the opinion of sanitary experts that ordinary 
surface water is sufficiently purified for drink- 
ing purposes if it has passed through ten feet of 



SOUECES OF WATEE SUPPLY 41 

soil. This is true for ordinary surface water 
but does not hold for the leachings from a 
privy vault or barnyard. 

A good dug well. The well shown in Fig. 
10 is a good dug well, because it is so con- 
structed that no surface water can enter it 



LINING CARRIED 
ABOVE SURFACE 



7 
GROUND 
SLOPING AWAY 
FROM WELL 




Fig. 10. A good dug well. 



without having been filtered by passing 
through ten feet of soil. It is made as fol- 
lows: 

(1) It is lined with brick, laid dry at the 
bottom and set in cement for the upper ten 
feet. The upper ten feet is also backed by a 



42 HOME WATERWORKS 

one-foot layer of puddled clay, which is not 
porous to water. 

(2) The lining is carried nine inches or a 
foot above the surface and surrounded with 
puddled clay or cement sloping away from 
the well. 

(3) It has a tight cover. 

(4) The pump is placed at one side so that 
any water spilled does not pass back into the 
well. . 

It will be seen that with this construction 
surface water cannot enter the well without 
having passed through at least ten feet of 
soil. 

A poor dug well may be improved in a 
number of ways. Some suggestions are given 
below. The object, in every case, is so to alter 
the well that no surface water can enter it 
without being filtered by passing through at 
least ten feet of soil. This may be done as 
follows : 

(1) Tear out the old lining and replace it 
by a lining backed by a one-foot layer of puddled 
clay as described above, or — 



SOUECES OF WATER SUPPLY 43 

(2) Place a lining of vitrified tile inside the 
old lining and fill the space between with coarse 
gravel .and sand, the upper ten feet at least 
being sand, and below that coarse gravel. To 
admit water, the lower one or two tiles may 
be perforated; or the bottom of the well may 
be covered to a depth of one or two feet with 
coarse gravel and the lower tile placed on 
this. The joints of the upper ten feet of tiling 
should be set in cement. With this arrange- 
ment the surface water must penetrate at least 
ten feet of sand before it enters the well. The 
lining should be carried above the surface and 
the ground sloped away from the well in all 
cases ; or — 

(3) Place in the well an iron pipe with a 
strainer attached to the lower end, as described 
under driven wells below. Fill in with coarse 
gravel to about one foot above the top of the 
strainer, and above this with sand; or — 

(4) The well may be the starting point of 
a drilled well, in which the surface water is 
kept out by the wrought iron casing as de- 
scribed under drilled wells below. Since this 



44 



HOME WATEEWORKS 



well takes its water from the second porous 
layer, it is not necessary to fill it with sand or 
gravel. 
The driven well. The driven well is a better 

well than the 
dug well and 
costs very 
much less. It 
is simply an 
iron pipe fitted 
with a pointed 
strainer and 
driven down 
into the water- 
bearing layer 
(see Fig. 11). 
If the top of 
the strainer is 
only ten feet below the 

surface, all surface 
water which enters the 
pipe passes through at 
least ten feet of soil. 
This driven well then 
is equal to the good 

Jj'ig. 11. A driven well. 





SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY 45 

dug well described above, because the surface 
water passes through the same thickness of soil. 
The cost of construction, however, is very much 
less ; it is about one dollar for piping and about 
two more for the perforated drive point. 

If the point is driven down about twenty- 
five feet, as is usually the case, all the rain 
water entering the well passes through at least 
twenty-five feet of soil. This well then is better 
than the good dug well described above be- 
cause the surface water is filtered through 
a greater depth of soil. It is also very much 
cheaper, as the only material needed is the 
piping and the drive-point. The total cost is 
less than five dollars. 

How to drive the well. The perforated drive- 
point is screwed to one end of a length of pipe 
and a drive-cap (Fig. 13) to the other. The 
pipe and drive-point are then driven into the 
ground with sledge hammers or with a drop 
weight similar to that of a pile driver. The 
drive-cap is then removed, another length of 
pipe screwed to the first, the drive-cap screwed 
to the top of the new length, the whole driven 
down, and so on until water is found. A plum- 



46 HOME WATERWORKS 

met is let down inside the pipe from time to 
time ; if it comes up wet, water has been struck. 
The point must then be driven down somewhat 
deeper to insure a good flow of water from the 
porous stratum; this is explained on page 50 
below. 

Another method of sinking a driven well is 
to use a pipe without a drive point. A length 
of ordinary one and a half or two inch galvan- 
ized iron pipe is fitted with a drive cap and 
driven down until the driving becomes difficult; 
the earth inside is then moistened with water 
and loosened by means of a drill; the mud thus 
formed is then removed by means of a sand 
pump. When the earth has been removed to 
the bottom of the pipe, the driving is continued. 
These operations are repeated until the water- 
bearing stratum is reached ; then the drilling is 
continued for a distance below the bottom of 
the pipe to form a cavity with loose sides into 
which the water passes readily from the porous 
stratum. 

The pump may be attached directly to the 
top of the drive pipe as shown in I, Fig. 12, 
or the cylinder may be attached to it at the bot- 



SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY 47 



torn of a dry well, as shown in II, Fig. 12. In 
either case the drive pipe acts as the suction 

i ii 



CEMENT BLOCK _ L . 

3 "or . - '''a'.'o' ■ '•' 




.o 



V '.-■ ° 





.-'o. -o . o : o- ■ ."■ 
~- •" 9, \r •<>■'• -J 

• •*o.*- io i-' <! ^. °*"V: 
^ j * - 'l, J-OV-' 



^ 



:, 



- . — - o . • • ■ 
*^_ o" ®"~ <4 - 



rfSs: 






' • O • ■ -^ " : O ' 

. 5 - - ■■ .-■■■■ O - • 

, r 



r 6". x- V-q •■ c. 



■:."0- *.•«.. *--o* 

- •".-"•<?" ■"- "0-- .X 

¥-^.^:^ 

'.o • -.- . ;. • ".\-*n-' 

:■" poro'usV 




■ gr6 BJf'p V f.-WAt' eb '. 



P.'r "!C ~ 






- i -'T^ 



:°.--c' ■;•-.?. 



. 0*. • o ■ ■ -O '■ ■ -o 



i ■' o. •■ DRIVE; POINTVh 



. ,o '. -0 ■ -o .' P .' 



CEMENT BLOCK 




>»-; .". ^ • - " % * ; . 

• -_,° *» v - ..■ - ' • .: ° , »»*.»* 
•^M. DRIVE PIPE. • •/>,.' 

-■■-•••v-i/K-- 



-/CYLINDER - * .. o , ' 

f.M * 4 ' . • »». ■ 



LAYER." 



• . a .'- . :2- 



•^le y£L' /_■ _jj . J;_-_/ •; 



p.. 



iiV .'.^" .■ - 



=>■••■ " Cs ■ \ •- •. o . ■ o' 
\e 0. v -~rj 
- DRIVE POINT-.'- & i; •• : 



o • ^ " • .0 <J 



— — , - -= — z-rr: ^ • . * . . °. ■ . ■ ' , V ■ . . • Q — 



O ■ -. ^ .i ■■ : O - ' o' 






Fig. 12. Driven wells. 



pipe and for this reason all the joints must be 
air tight. The arrangement shown in II is 






48 HOME WATERWORKS 

used to bring the cylinder nearer to the water 
in the well and also to protect the pump from 
frost; for this purpose a small hole is tapped 
in the set length just above the cylinder; this 
allows the water to run out of the pump as 
soon as the pumping is stopped. 

The drive-well point (Fig. 13) is of galvan- 
ized wrought iron, punched with elliptical holes 

of uniform size and at 
equal distances apart. 
This is covered with brass 
wire gauze which in turn is protected 
with a heavy perforated brass jacket. 
The pointed end or shoe is malleable 
iron swaged into the pipe and riv- 
eted. The drive-points vary in size, 
of course, according to the type 

Fig. 13. 

of well; the one most commonly 
used is one and one-half inches in diameter, 
twenty-four inches long, with the perforated 
part eighteen inches long. The price varies 
also according to size and quality; they are 
advertised from one dollar up. The drive cap 
is heavier than the ordinary pipe cap and the 
thread is cut to the top of the cap, so that when 



SOUECES OF WATER SUPPLY 49 

it is screwed home, the edge of the pipe touches 
the top of the cap and thus the strain of the 
driving falls on the edge of the pipe and not on 
the thread. 

The driven well may be used in any soil that 
allows water to pass through it at all readily. 
It may be made to pass through a non-porous 
layer such as clay, into a porous layer beneath. 
This, in fact, is an excellent arrangement, be- 
cause surface water does not enter the well at 
all. The drive-point cannot of course penetrate 
rock. 

When the pump is first started the water 
brought up is always cloudy, due to the pres- 
ence of fine particles of sand or grit, but after 
a little pumping the space about the drive-point 
is freed from these fine particles, and after- 
ward the water comes up clear. 

Depth of well. The amount of water in the 
drive-well pipe at any time is small, but as 
soon as the pump is started, water moves into 
the pipe from the water-bearing stratum. 
When the pump is working, the water level near 
the well is lowered and the line of the ground 
water-level slopes towards the pipe, making 



50 



HOME WATERWORKS 



°: »° ■'•°.' • •- ■■c\ 

b .b' ■ '• o • "o 

a--'. ■.»' .* . • ; 

o 

«3 '.' <S 




■fl: -'o 



. .0 



'0 



.o . 



•.o 



. o 







•;.- •- ° -.0: 



o- 



o-;oV ; o 

Q ' • - h POROUS. • 



,-., o.. >-^. •• •=. 

i^DRIVEPIPE • X • O 



.. o 



•o . 



tf 



O '. ■ 



what is called a cone of depression, as shown in 
Fig. 14. If the soil is very porous, the move- 
ment of the water is rapid and 
the cone is broad and shallow. 
If, however, the soil is 
not very porous, the 
cone is narrow and 
deep, since a greater 
head is necessary to 
force the required 
amount of water 
through the soil. 

The drive - point 
should always be 
driven some distance 
below the ground wa- 
ter-level to make 
allowance for this 



'.' . c .- - ■ 



o ■■:■: 

\ '. o 



o- 



S'i5> ^?"P l'0.-o 
- S^o>- '^o ^^: Q-r 



§> >> 



■^P- : 



- o^-GROUNDt ^-g 



.q LAYER ; 

.. .. • ' • o 

* - '© -° : . 

= - 0.-.c-'.o' 



°. • o -o; 

'• '. A- 0.' 



.0^ 









WATER' 



^d&-t%-^ 



Q 0". - . *' 






V <v 



lowering of the water- 
level near the pipe 



non porousC 'Layer . / 






Fig. 14. Cone of depression 



when the pump has 
been working for some 
time. The less porous the soil the deeper it 
will need to be. The correct depth in each case 
can be settled only by a pumping test to de- 



SOUECES OF WATEE SUPPLY 51 

termine the quantity of water the well gives 
before it is pumped dry, and the time it takes 
it to fill again. If the quantity of water is not 
sufficient, the pipe may be driven down a foot 
or so and another test made, etc. A well driven 
without a point improves with use because the 
water makes for itself channels in the porous 
stratum through which it moves more readily 
to the well. This is also true of wells driven 
with a perforated drive-point, but the efficiency 
of the latter wells may in time be impaired by 
the clogging of the wire gauze with sand and 
grit. 

Where the porous stratum is shallow, it 
sometimes happens that the point is driven 
through it into a non-porous stratum beneath ; 
this of course shuts off the supply of water. 
If this should happen, the pipe may be drawn 
up again as follows: a collar is made of two 
stout timbers notched to fit the pipe and 
bolted together around the pipe below the drive 
cap; the lifting is done by means of two jack 
screws, one under each end of the collar. If 
the pipe sticks, a twist or two with a pipe 
wrench will generally loosen it. 



52 



HOME WATERWORKS 



xjP 



-SURFACE. POROUS 



sfZiTv NOM'^PQROUS 



'"SJfiA.JU^o 



Tfoe drilled well. The best type of well is 
the drilled well. The dug well and the driven 
fx well usually receive their wa- 
\ ter from the surface porous 
layer, and when 
they are properly 
located and prop- 
erly constructed, 
it is reasonably 
certain that the 
water is sufficient- 
ly pure for drink- 
ing purposes. 
The drilled well, 



.ox 



«o- „ 



V v* 'A ^'' r wATl'FC : •. 



' WATI 



°- .LS£C.OJs!D,^P_ORO US- 



■ :-o" 



§TRA^uVr, l _\) r ; 
TV- 






,ci-: ? - .<? ; . ■■ . ; .. . -73- 
■h? CYTTNt)"ETi ". «. '. - 



SUC .TION ^PIPEj 

' ■ a • " ■ . , 

^SJR^TLUJVU.-^ 



— \ r -r- however, usually 
v~.^ receives its water 
from a second 
or lower porous 
layer, as shown 
in Figs. 7 and 
15. Since the 
water has trav- 
eled a great dis- 
tance (generally many miles) through the sec- 
ond porous layer it is perfectly filtered, and if 




'• K'^-'^^NON,'* PO"B0^i."';S.XRA'T0,M; 7 C \ 
Fig. 15. The drilled well. 



SOUECES OF WATEE SUPPLY 53 

the well is so constructed as to keep out surface 
water, it is practically certain that the water is 
free from organic impurities. In any well the 
water may be hard, because it dissolves lime- 
stone and gypsum in its passage through the 
soil or rock. This is particularly true of the 
water in a drilled well, because of the greater 
distance it has traveled. 

The drilled well is a hole from three to fifteen 
inches in diameter, which passes down through 
the surface layer of soil, and through the non- 
porous layer of clay or rock below it, into a 
second water-bearing layer beneath. The bore 
is protected with a water-tight wrought-iron 
casing, which, when rock is penetrated, is driven 
firmly into the rock to exclude surface water, 
but no casing is used through the rock. If the 
rock is within twenty feet of the surface, a dry 
well is dug to it and the casing, after being 
driven about two feet into the rock, is sur- 
rounded with concrete to keep out surface 
water. 

Well drilling is a regular business, since 
somewhat elaborate machinery is required. 
The contract is usually made at so much a 



54 HOME WATERWORKS 

foot, and the price averages about two dollars 
a foot for a four-inch well. This includes the 
casing and a pumping test of a certain number 
of hours' duration, to determine the capacity 
of the well. The drilled well has been in use 
for many years for irrigating purposes in the 
western part of the United States and Canada, 
and it is being rapidly introduced in the east, 
first, because the water so obtained is pure; 
and, second, because an ample supply may usu- 
ally be secured by making the well of sufficient 
depth. 

The pump. The water in a drilled well fre- 
quently rises above the surface ; that is, it is a 
flowing well. If the pressure of the water is 
sufficient, the casing may be connected directly 
to the supply pipe for the house or barn, and 
no pumping appliance is necessary. If the wa- 
ter rises within twenty or twenty-five feet of 
the surface it may be lifted by suction with an 
ordinary pump placed at the top of the casing. 
If the water is thirty or thirty-five feet below 
the surface of the ground a dry well may be 
sunk five or ten feet below the surface to bring 
the pump-cylinder within twenty or twenty-five 



SOUECES OF WATER SUPPLY 55 

feet of the water-level. This construction is 
also used to lower the cylinder below the frost 
line. 

If the water is at a lower level than thirty 
feet a deep-well pump is used in which the 
cylinder, with suction pipe and strainer at- 
tached, is lowered into the well until the cylin- 
der is below the water level when the pump is 
working. With this arrangement the cylinder 
is always primed. The deep-well pump and 
other pumps used in drilled wells are described 
in the chapter on pumps. 

In Fig. 16 are illustrations of a number of 
wells showing the pumps in position. The 
wells as illustrated are of course very much 
shallower and of greater ^diameter than they 
would be in practice. The first on the left 
is a driven well with a dug well at the top, 
in which the cylinder is placed below the 
frost line. The drive-point is a good dis- 
tance below the water line and the drive-pipe 
is the suction pipe. Next is a drilled well fitted 
with a force-pump standard. The cylinder is 
below the water line and is fitted with a suction 
pipe with strainer. The third well from the 



56 



HOME WATEEWOEKS 




I II III IV V VI 

Fig. 16. Wells with pump in position. 

left is a drilled well with a dug well at the top. 
It is fitted with a pump having a three-way 



SOUECES OF WATER SUPPLY 57 

cock, by means of which water may be delivered 
above the surface or underground to a service 
pipe. Each of the pumps in these three wells 
may be worked by hand or by means of a wind- 
mill or other power. Well number four is a 
drilled well with a dry well at the top. It is 
fitted with a working head and a pipe placed to 
deliver water to an underground service pipe. 
This type of pump is used almost exclusively 
for very deep wells, and requires a stronger 
engine than a windmill. Well number five is 
a dug well fitted with a pump with working head 
placed four feet beneath the surface. This 
pump is operated by a windmill or other power. 
Well number six is a drilled well with a pump 
having a large delivery pipe above ground. 
This pump is operated by windmill or other 
power, and is used chiefly in pumping water for 
irrigation. 



CHAPTER V 
SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY 

SPRINGS, RIVERS, LAKES AND CISTERNS 

The source of the water in springs, as is 
shown in Fig. 6, above, is rain or snow water 
which has sunk into a porous stratum until 
stopped by a non-porous stratum below. It 
flows along on top of the non-porous stratum 
until it finds an outlet at some lower point where 
the stratum outcrops. 

Springs are a popular source of water sup- 
ply, and deservedly so, since the water, having 
penetrated a great thickness of soil, is generally 
very pure. In some cases, however, the water 
is open to suspicion; for example, when the 
spring is on the lower side of a barnyard, or 
when a privy vault has been placed above and 
near it. An examination should always be 
made to determine whether there is a possible 
source of pollution above the spring. 

58' 



SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY 59 



If the water from a spring is to be piped to 
the house or barn, the spring should be walled 
up aud fitted with a tight cover (Fig. 17) to 
protect the water from contamination by in- 
sects, toads, leaves, etc. The casing may be 
a half barrel set down over the spring, or for 
a more permanent job, may be made of con- 




po'RO s= ;la ? er\<= ' 



.OVERFLOW 
-WIRE GAUZE 




Fig. 17. A spring properly protected. 

crete or of brick or stone set in cement. The 
cover may be an iron plate, a flat stone, or may 
be made of wood. Of whatever material the 
cover is made, the chief requirement is that 
it should fit snugly; because if insects fall into 
a walled spring, it is harder for them to get out 
than if the spring were unwalled, and dead in- 
sects do not add to the purity of drinking water. 
If the spring has not a very large flow the 
reservoir may be made larger so that the night 



60 HOME WATERWORKS 

flow may be stored for use during the day. If 
there are several springs near together the wa- 
ter from a number of them may frequently be 
piped to one reservoir. 

The service pipe is fitted with a strainer to 
keep out anything that might obstruct the pipe, 
and the overflow pipe is covered with wire 
gauze to keep out insects. 

The service pipe to the house or barn is 
placed underground to keep the water from 
freezing ; a depth of two feet is sufficient, if the 
water is allowed to run continuously. If water 
does not run continuously it must be placed 
three and a half or four feet underground in 
cold climates. When the trench containing the 
pipe is being filled up, the stones should be left 
out. Stone is a better conductor of heat than 
earth, and since the water in a pipe freezes 
because heat is conducted away from it, a water 
pipe covered with earth containing many stones 
is more likely to freeze than one covered with 
earth free from stones. For this reason also, 
the pipe should not come into contact with the 
stone foundation wall; it should enter the cel- 
lar through a hole about one foot square. If 



SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY 61 

this hole is left open at the cellar end, the pipe 
will be protected from frost by being kept at- 
the temperature of the cellar air. 

When a pipe is being laid underground, care 
should be taken to avoid air pockets, and for 
this purpose, the pipe should be laid on as even 
a grade as possible. If the pipe is uneven, air 
from the water collects in the higher parts and 
forms what are called air pockets, which cut 
down the effective head and thereby decrease 
the flow of water. This is not of great im- 
portance if the spring has a good elevation or 
if the pipe is the discharge pipe from a pump, 
but it is a very important matter if the spring 
has a small elevation or if the pipe is the suc- 
tion pipe of a pump. 

A well on a hillside. In many cases in a roll- 
ing or hilly country, a well sunk on a hillside 
may be used to deliver water to a house or 
barn by gravity, as shown in Fig. 18. A glance 
at the figure will show why this is. The dotted 
line represents the surface of the ground- 
water which is flowing through the porous layer 
and on top of the non-porous layer. A well 
sunk in the hillside will be filled with water 



62 



HOME WATERWORKS 



to the ground-water level, and if this level is 
above the house a pipe line will deliver water 
to the house by gravity. 




Fig. 18. Water supply from well on hillside. 

This is an extremely simple and convenient 
system of water supply, and might be used 
much more commonly than it is. 

Brooks, rivers and lakes. To take water 
from brooks, rivers and lakes, the intake pipe 
should be located in deep water, because: first, 
it will be less liable to damage by ice; second, 
as long as there is water in the brook or river 
there will be a supply for the pipe; and third, 
the deep water is more nearly free from pollu- 
tion than that near the side. The method of 
locating the end of the intake pipe is shown in 
Fig. 19. It is fitted with a strainer and set 
a little above the bottom; thus the shifting 
sediment passes under it and not into it. 

The strainer should have an area of open 



SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY 63 



spaces at least twice the area of the pipe. In 
rapid streams it should be connected at right 
angles to the intake pipe and turned so that 
the open end faces down stream. When the 
strainer is placed in this position, it readily 
sheds ordinary floating materials, and those 
which may cling to it, such as weeds, etc., trail 
out down stream in such a manner as to leave 




INTAKE PIRE.o. • '■ ' " o'. 







Fig. 19. Intake pipe in river or lake. 

the waterway open. It is not advisable to place 
a foot valve on the end of the intake pipe, be- 
cause if the valve needs repairing, the whole 
pipe must be raised from the river bottom. A 
much more convenient arrangement is to place 
a swing check valve in the pipe at some point 
above the water level. It should be placed at 
the bottom of a dry well and should be of a 
type easily opened for cleaning and repairs ; to 



64 



HOME WATEEWOEKS 



protect the valve from frost, the dry well should 
be filled with some non-conducting material, 
such as sawdust, straw or barnyard manure. 

Before the water from brooks, rivers and 
lakes is used for drinking purposes, an exami- 
nation should be made of the region above the 
intake pipe to make sure that there is no source 
of contamination. In thinly settled parts of 
the country and in mountainous regions the 
water is generally pure. In the lower and more 
settled parts, however, this is not the case and 
every precaution should be taken to see that it 
is pure. 

Well or gallery near a river or lake. A 




y , . '- ' y ' \^^-',NON-_pd.ROUS' r l-ay'er V X O , '--'■;. ' 




/L V" N °N -PO.ROUS- LAYERS ' , /-'} -, \ <T 



Fig. 20. Well and gallery near river or lake. 

method frequently used to obtain water near a 
river or lake is to sink a well in the bank near 
the water, or a long gallery is run parallel to 
the bank, as shown in Fig. 20. It is generally 
supposed that the water obtained in such a well 



SOUECES OF WATER SUPPLY 65 

or gallery is from the river, but as a matter of 
fact it is ground-water which is flowing from 
the land into the river. The dotted line in Fig. 
20 represents the ground-water level and the 
arrows indicate the direction in which the water 
is moving. It will be noticed that the water en- 
ters the well on the land side and leaves it on 
the water side, and if the well is any distance 
from the river, the water level in it will be 
above that in the river. 

It often happens that the water in the well 
differs from that in the river ; for example, the 
river water may be soft and the well water 
hard, or the reverse. The water in the well is 
always found to be of the same character as 
the underground water, which goes to show 
that it is underground water and not river wa- 
ter. 

The same explanation accounts for the fact 
that wells sunk close to the sea shore generally 
give fresh water. The impression formerly 
was that the sand filtered out the salt, but it is 
now known that the water is fresh because it 
is water flowing from the land into the sea. 

Cistern water. One of the commonest meth- 



66 



HOME WATERWORKS 



ods of obtaining water for washing purposes 
is to gather rain-water from the roofs in cis- 
terns. Rain-water is very pure and if kept so 
is excellent for all purposes. Since, however, 
dust, leaves, and bird excrement are usually 
washed into the cisterns with the water, it is 
rarely fit to be used for drinking purposes. If 

an automatic device, such 

as is shown in Fig. 21 is 

placed in the water pipe 

^ from the eave troughs, 

^JA the first washings from 

■* 7 XY\r\ -vr\s\T r» ^»/-v r» 11 r\-rrrr\ri r-s\ 




}p=3 the roof are allowed to 
twat r e e r run away and then after 

Fig. 21. Rain-water separator. n . . „ . 

a tew minutes ot ram 
the pure water is turned into the cistern. With 
such a device in the pipe and with a clean cis- 
tern, the rain-water gathered may be used for 
drinking as well as for washing. The cistern 
should be thoroughly cleaned once or twice a 
year. 

The device works as follows. The water 
coming from the roof strikes the tin plate A, 
which has a few holes in it ; the water trickling 
through these holes slowly fills the small tank 



SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY 67 

B, below; when B is full it siphons into K, and 
the weight of this water in K turns the circular 
part of the apparatus about the axis C, and de- 
livers the water into cistern pipe P. As long 
as the shower lasts the water trickling through 
A keeps the apparatus in this position; when 
the shower is over the water in K leaks out 
through a small hole, shown in the figure, and 
the weight moves the apparatus back to its first 
position, in which it is again ready to discard 
the dirty water coming from the roof at the 
beginning of the next shower. The separator 
might be made still simpler by doing away with 
the tank B and the siphon; the water would 
then trickle through A directly into K. There 
are a number of different rain water separators 
on the market. 



CHAPTEE VI 

PEOPEETIES OF AIE APPLIED IN 
PUMPS 

In Chapters III, IV and V, we have taken 
up the various sources of water supply and 
have learned where the water conies from, how 
it is purified, and what precautions must be 
taken to keep it pure. "We will now make a 
study of the various appliances which are used 
in pumping this water. In order to take care 
of any piece of machinery one should know not 
only how it works, but ivhy it works. In the 
case of pumps, everyone knows how they work, 
that is, the handle is moved up and down and 
the water comes ; not everyone, however, knows 
why pumps work as they do. This chapter and 
the next are devoted to a study of the questions, 
how and why pumps work. 

Air. Practically all forms of pumps make 
use of the physical properties of air, and be- 
fore we can understand why pumps work, it 

68 



PROPERTIES OF AIR 69 

will be necessary to know something of these 
properties of air. Those made nse of in the 
working of pumps are as follows. 

First : air has weight. At the surface of the 
earth a cubic foot of air weighs one and one- 
quarter ounces, when its temperature is 32° F. 
Above the surface of the earth air weighs less 
per cubic foot, because there is less air pressing 
down on it from above, and therefore its density 
is less ; also, if the temperature is above 32° F., 
air expands and therefore weighs less per cubic 
foot. 

Second: our atmosphere, which is largely 
composed of air, exerts a pressure of about 
fifteen lbs. on every square inch of surface it 
touches, or over one ton on every square foot. 

Third : air is perfectly elastic ; that is, it com- 
presses or expands in inverse proportion to the 
pressure upon it ; also it exerts a back pressure 
equal to the pressure upon it. For example, if 
we have a certain volume of air confined in the 
vessel and put double the pressure upon it, it 
will be compressed to just one-half its volume, 
and will exert double the pressure it did at 
first, against the thing which is compressing it. 



70 



HOME WATEEWORKS 



Similarly, if we make the pressure upon it just 
one-half what it was at first, it will expand to 
double its volume and will exert just one-half 
the pressure it did at first against the thing 
compressing it. 

Air has weight. If one were asked off-hand, 
the question, "How much does air weigh V 9 the 
answer would probably be, "Air has no weight 

at all." When the nec- 
essary apparatus (Fig. 
22) is at hand, however, 
a simple experiment 
may be made to show, 
that air has weight; 
that a cubic foot of air 
at 32° F. weighs one 
and one-quarter ounces ; 
and that the air in an ordinary dwelling-house 
weighs over a ton. 

The experiment is as follows. A glass flask, 
fitted with a tap, is weighed when full of air, 
and then weighed again after some of the air 
has been pumped out by means of an air pump 
(not shown in the figure). It is found in every 
case that there is a loss in weight, which shows 




Fig. 22. "Weighing air. 



PROPERTIES OF AIR 71 

that the air pumped out has weight. If now, 
the tap is opened, air will enter the flask again, 
and on making another weighing we find that 
the weight is the same as it was before the air 
was pumped out. This is a further proof that 
air has weight, since it shows that the air, which 
enters the flask, has weight. 

In order to find out how much air weighs 
per cubic foot, we proceed as follows. 

Weigh the flask when full of air, pump out 
as much as possible, close the tap, and weigh 
again to find the weight of air taken out. 

Now, to learn the volume of air removed, we 
immerse the flask in water and open the tap 
under water; water enters to take the place of 
the air removed. If now we weigh it again, 
to find the weight of water which has entered 
the flask, we may ascertain the volume of water 
which has entered by dividing the weight of 
water by 62.5 (the weight of 1 cubic foot of wa- 
ter in lbs.). This gives the volume in cubic 
feet of the water which entered the flask, and 
this is the same as the volume of air in cubic 
feet which was pumped out of the flask. Know- 
ing the weight of air and its volume in cubic 



72 HOME WATERWORKS 

feet, the weight of air per cubic foot may easily 
be calculated. It is found in this way that a 
cubic foot of air at 32° F. weighs one and one- 
quarter ounces. 

A house 40 ft. X 40 ft. X 20 ft. contains 
32,000 cubic ft. of air; that is, 32,000 X 1% or 
40,000 ozs. of air; that is, 40,000 divided by 16 
equals 2,500 lbs. Therefore, a house of the size 
given above, would hold over a ton of air. This 
result is rather startling at first, as we are in 
the habit of thinking that air has no weight at 
all; but when we remember that balloons 
and aeroplanes float in air, and that water is 
lifted in pumps and siphons by the pressure of 
the atmosphere, the fact is more easily realized. 

Air exerts pressure. We have found that air 
weighs one and one-quarter ounces per cubic 
foot, and when we remember that we live at 
the bottom of an ocean of air some miles deep, 
we readily understand why our atmosphere 
exerts the pressure it does. 

An experiment which may be made by any- 
one, and which illustrates atmospheric pressure 
in a striking manner, is as follows. Remove 
the screw cap from an empty gallon syrup can, 



PROPERTIES OF AIR 



73 




Fig. 23. 



II 



pour in water to the depth of about one inch, 
place it on a stove and allow it to boil for about 
five minutes. Then remove it 
from the stove, screw the cap 
on firmly and invert it in a 
shallow dish of cold water; in 
about half a minute the can will 
collapse. (Fig. 23.) 

The explanation of this is as follows. When 
the water in the syrup can boils, the steam 
formed passes out at the top and carries the air 
with it. After a few minutes of boiling nearly 
all the air is removed and there is practically 
nothing in the can but water and steam. When 
the can is closed and cooled, the steam condenses 
and leaves a vacuum above the water. There 
is, therefore, nothing inside the can to press 
outwards, and since the can is 
not strong enough to withstand 
the atmospheric pressure on the 
outside, it is crumpled up. This 
illustrates the fact that the at- 
Fig. 24. mosphere exerts a pressure. 
Another simple experiment (Fig. 24) which 
may be made by anyone, and which shows that 




74 HOME WATEEWOEKS 

the atmosphere exerts pressure, is as fol- 
lows. 

If an ordinary glass tumbler is filled, or 
partly filled, with water, and covered with a 
piece of paper which is held on by the hand 
while the glass is inverted, it is found that the 
paper remains on when the hand is removed. 
The explanation of this is that the atmosphere 
presses in all directions, sidewise, down and up. 
In this case the atmospheric pressure upwards 
on the paper is greater than the weight of wa- 
ter in the glass, and therefore the paper is held 
on. This shows that the atmosphere exerts 
pressure upwards. 

When an air pump is at hand, a number of 
interesting experiments may be made to demon- 
strate the pressure of the atmosphere. Two 
such experiments are illustrated in Fig. 25. In 
I, a thin rubber sheet is fastened over one 
end of a glass cylinder; air is pumped out at 
the other end, thus decreasing the pressure 
on the inside ; and the atmospheric pressure on 
the outside forces the rubber sheet in, as shown 
in II. It makes no difference in what direction 
the cylinder is held, the sheet is forced in to the 



PROPERTIES OF AIR 



75 



same extent in every position. This shows that 
the atmosphere presses in all directions, down, 
up and sidewise, and with the same force in all 
directions. 

Another interesting experiment is as follows. 






in 



Fig. 25. The atmosphere exerts pressure. 

In III is shown a pair of hollow iron hemi- 
spheres the edges of which are ground smooth, 
so that when they are placed together the joint 
is air tight. One handle may be removed and 
the air pumped out through the tap. When the 
air is removed, the tap closed, and the handle 
replaced, it is found that, with hemispheres of 
four inches diameter, it is all two strong men 
can do to pull them apart. When there is air 
in the inside, the hemispheres fall apart easily; 



76 HOME WATERWORKS 

but when the air is removed there is no pres- 
sure from the inside outwards, and the at- 
mospheric pressure on the outside must be 
overcome in order to separate them. This illus- 
trates the fact that the atmosphere exerts pres- 
sure. 

Atmospheric pressure nearly 15 lbs. per 
square inch. We have learned that air has 
weight and that as a consequence our atmos- 
phere exerts a pressure on everything. Let 
us now find out just how much this pressure 
amounts to per square inch. 

An Italian named Torricelli (1608-1647) was 
the first to prove that the atmosphere exerts a 
pressure, and to measure this pressure. He 
was led to the discovery as follows. It had 
been known from ancient times that if one end 
of a pipe is placed in water and the air is 
pumped out of the top, the water will rise in 
the pipe. The ancients explained this by the 
saying, "Nature abhors a vacuum," which of 
course was no explanation at all. About 1640 
a deep well was dug near Florence and it was 
found that no matter how perfect the pump, wa- 
ter could be raised only thirty-four feet. It 



PROPERTIES OF AIR 



77 



seemed then that Nature's horror of a vacuum 
stopped at thirty-four feet. Torricelli came to 
the conclusion that the true explanation of the 
fact that water rises in such a pipe is that it 
is the weight of the atmosphere that forces the 
water up the pipe, and that this weight is equal 
to the pressure of thirty-four feet of water. 
Torricelli reasoned that if this be true, a liquid 
heavier than water should not be forced up so 
high as water is, and decided to make a test by 
using mercury (quicksilver) which is 13.6 times 
as heavy as water, and therefore should be 
lifted only 1-13.6 times as high as water. 

Torricelli 9 s experiment, 1643. A glass tube 
four feet long (Fig. 26), 
closed at one end, was en- ^ 
tirely filled with mercury 
so that no air was left in 
the tube; the finger was 
then placed over the open 
end; the tube was in- 
verted; and the open end, 
still covered with the fin- 
ger, was placed in a dish of mercury. When 
the finger was removed from the open end under 






Fig. 26. 



78 



HOME WATERWORKS 



1 SQUARE 
INCH AREA 



mercury, the mercury in the tube remained 
thirty inches above that outside. 

It is found, in making this experiment, that 
it makes no difference what may be the diame- 
ter or height of the tube or dish, the height of 
the mercury inside the tube is always thirty 
inches above that in the dish. 

If a tube one square inch 
in inside cross-section shaped 
like the one shown in Fig. 
27, is filled with mercury so 
that the long arm has no air 
in it, and then inverted, the 
level in the long tube re- 
mains thirty inches above 
Fig. 27. tn a t in the short tube. 

There being a vacuum at the top of the long 
tube, there is no pressure on the mercury sur- 
face at C. The atmospheric pressure then on 
one square inch at A supports a column of mer- 
cury BC thirty inches high. Since the tube is 
one square inch in area of cross-section, this 
column contains 30 cubic inches of mercury, and 
since one cubic inch of mercury weighs .49 lbs., 
therefore the 30 cubic inches weigh .49 X 30 = 



1 SQUARE" 
tNOhl AREA,-v 
A 




PROPERTIES OF AIR 79 

14.7 lbs. The pressure of the atmosphere sup- 
ports this weight and is therefore equal to 14.7 
lbs. on one square inch. This proves that the 
atmosphere exerts a pressure of 14.7 lbs. on 
every square inch of surface exposed to it. 

Atmospheric pressure will support a column 
of water 34 feet high. 

Since water is only 1-13.6 times as heavy as 
quicksilver, the atmosphere will support a 
column of water 13.6 times as high as the 
column of quicksilver or 30 X 13.6 == 408 inches 
or 408 -T- 12 — 34 feet. That is, if we make an 
experiment similar to that described in the last 
paragraph, except that we use water instead of 
mercury, we find that the column of water sup- 
ported by the atmosphere is 34 feet high in- 
stead of 30 in. high. 

If a perfect vacuum could be produced in 
the ordinary pump the atmosphere would lift 
water to the plunger valve, even though it were 
thirty-four feet above the water in the well. In 
practice, however, this is not possible and 
twenty-five feet is about the maximum height, 
while fifteen feet is more common. 

Another property of air. We have learned 



80 HOME WATERWORKS 

that air weighs 1*4 ounces per cubic foot at 
32° F. and that the atmosphere exerts a pres- 
sure of 14.7 lbs. (nearly 15 lbs.) on every 
square inch. (Hereafter we will use 15 lbs. per 
square inch when speaking of the pressure of 
the atmosphere.) Another property of air, its 
elasticity, is made use of in pumps. It is illus- 
trated as follows. 

An air-tight cylinder, C (Fig. 28), having an 
.j0g air tap, T, and 

, pressure gauge, G> 
at the closed end is 



PLUNGER- 



Fig. 28. Air is elastic. fitte( j ^^ m aij ._ 

tight plunger. If the tap is opened, when the 
plunger is in the position represented in Fig. 
28 the air in the cylinder is at the same pressure 
as the air outside, and the gauge registers 15 
lbs. per square inch. The gauge registers ab- 
solute pressure, not the pressure above at- 
mospheric pressure, as is usually the case. On 
this gauge a vacuum is pressure, atmospheric 
pressure is 15 lbs., etc. 

If now the tap is closed, the air is still at a 
pressure of 15 lbs. per square inch, but if the 



PROPERTIES OF AIE 81 

plunger is shoved in far enough to reduce the 
space that the air may occupy to just one-half 
what it was at first, as shown in Fig. 29, it is 
found that the plunger must be shoved in with 
a force of 30 lbs. per square inch and that the 
gauge registers a pres- 
sure of 30 lbs. per square 
inch. This shows that 



¥ 



to compress a certain Fig * 29 - 

quantity of air to one-half its volume we must 
double the pressure on it ; and that when air is 
compressed to half its volume it exerts twice 
the pressure it did at first. If the plunger is 
shoved in still farther, until the space that the 
air may occupy is just one-third what it was at 
first, it is found that the piston must be shoved 
in with three times the pressure, or 45 lbs. 
per square inch, and that the air exerts three 
times the pressure it did at first, or forty-five 
lbs. per square inch. Similarly, if the space is 
decreased to %, 1-5 or 1-10 the first volume, the 
pressure is 4, 5 and 10 times what it was at 
first. In short, if the pressure on air or any 
gas is multiplied by 2, 3, 4, 10, 20, etc., the 



82 HOME WATERWORKS 

volume is reduced to y 2 , %> %, 1-10 or 1-20, 
etc., and the air exerts 2, 3, 4, 10 and 20 times 
the pressure outwards. 

Air under decreased pressure. If we de- 
crease the pressure upon the air, it acts in 
the opposite manner; for example, if wa open 
the tap and shove the plunger in until the 
volume is small the pressure is 15 lbs. per 
square inch, since the tap is open. If now we 
close the tap, and pull out the piston so that 
the space the air may occupy is twice what 
it was at first, we find that the pressure in- 
side drops to y 2 or 7.5 lbs. per square inch. 

Similarly, if we increase the volume the air 
may occupy to 3, 4 or 10 times what it was 
at the beginning, we find the pressure it exerts 
drops to %, %, 1-10 what it was at first. In 
short, if we make the volume which air or any 
gas may occupy 2, 3, 5 or 10, etc., times as 
great, the gas occupies the whole volume, but 
the pressure it exerts, decreases to y 2 , %, 1-5 
or 1-10, etc., of what it was at the beginning. 

This relation between the pressure and 
volume of gases was discovered by an English- 
man named Robert Boyle in 1666. It is called 



PROPERTIES OF AIR 83 

after him, Boyle's Law, and stated in scien- 
tific language it is, "the volume of a gas varies 
inversely as the pressure upon it," and "the 
pressure a gas exerts is equal to the pressure 
exerted upon it." 



CHAPTER VII 
PUMPS AND THEIR ACTION 

We have now learned some of the properties 
of air, namely: First, a cubic foot of it at 
thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit weighs one and 
one-quarter ounces; second, the ocean of air 
(our atmosphere) exerts a pressure of fourteen 
and seven-tenths pounds (nearly fifteen pounds) 
per square inch or over a ton (14.7 X 144 = 
2116.8 lbs.) per square foot; third, air is elastic, 
that is, its volume varies inversely as the pres- 
sure upon it, and it exerts a pressure equal to 
that exerted upon it. We will now use this 
knowledge of the properties of air to help us 
understand why the different parts of the pump 
work as they do. 

Classes of pumps. Pumps are divided into 
two classes: first, lift pumps, in which water 
is raised to the level of the pump spout; and 
second, force pumps, in which water is raised 
above the level of the pump. 

84 



PUMPS AND THEIR ACTION 85 



The lift pump. The drawings in Fig. 30 
show the different parts of the lift pump. In I 



PUMP STAND 
STANDARD 
OR BARREL 




STRAINER.! 



Fig. 30. Lift pumps. 



the lift bucket or plunger works in the pump 
barrel. One valve is in the plunger and the 



86 HOME WATERWORKS 

other, the suction valve, is at the bottom of the 
barrel; both valves open upwards. Below the 
suction valve is the suction pipe, and at the 
lower end of the suction pipe is the foot valve 
and strainer. The foot valve is not an essential 
part of the pump, but it is generally used 
on long suction pipes. It helps the suction 
valve to keep the pipe full of water, and thus 
water is obtained quickly when the pump is 
started. In II the pump is the same except that 
the cylinder is below the barrel and is connected 
to it by a four-foot set length. This arrange- 
ment is used to decrease the suction distance 
by bringing the cylinder nearer to the water 
in the well. It also helps to make the pump 
anti-freezing. For this purpose a small hole 
is tapped in the pipe just above the cylinder; 
this allows the water to drain out of the pump 
as soon as the pumping is stopped. 

The drawings in Fig. 31 illustrate how and 
why the lift pump works. In general the 
action of the pump is as follows. The first 
two or three strokes of the plunger pump the 
air out of the barrel and pipe of the pump, 
and thus decrease the atmospheric pressure 



PUMPS AND THEIE ACTION 87 



on the water in the pipe, and the atmospheric 
pressure on the water in the well forces the 
water np the pipe and into the barrel. After 
this the plunger lifts water against the pres- 
sure of the atmosphere and the atmospheric 
pressure on the water in the well forces more 
water up the pipe and into the barrel. 



,-te 



p 



VALVE A 
PLUNGER 
VALVE C 



C~ 



ATMOSPHERIC 
PRESSURE 




(U (2) (3) (4) (5) 

Fig. 31. How and why pumps work. 



Let us follow this operation step by step. 

In (1) the pump is full of air at atmos- 
pheric pressure. In (2) the plunger is being 
raised, the air in the barrel of the pump is 
thus given more room and expands to fill it ; this 
decreases the air pressure on the valve C; the 
air in the pipe P, being thus at a greater pres- 
sure than that in the barrel, lifts the valve C 
and expands into the barrel. This decreases 



88 HOME WATERWOBKS 

the pressure on the water in the pipe P, and 
the atmospheric pressure on the surface of 
the water in the well forces some water into 
the pipe. In (3) the plunger is moving down 
and some of the air in the barrel escapes 
through the valve A; the air in the pipe re- 
mains the same, since valve C is closed. In 
the next one or two upstrokes the operation 
illustrated in (2) is repeated until the air in the 
pipe and barrel is removed, and until the at- 
mospheric pressure on the water in the well 
has forced water into the barrel. After this 
the water above the plunger is lifted against 
the atmospheric pressure by the up strokes of 
the plunger, and the atmospheric pressure on 
the water in the well forces water into the pipe 
and barrel. 

We see then that a pump does not draw 
water, that is, it does not exert a pull on the 
water, but the plunger decreases the air pres- 
sure inside the pump, and the pressure of the 
atmosphere on the well water forces water into 
the pipe and barrel. 

The force pump. In one style of force pump 
(Fig. 32) the plunger is solid. The suction 



PUMPS AND THEIR ACTION 



89 




\ CHECK VALVE 

DISCHARGE PIPE 



valve is at the bottom of the barrel of the pump 
just as in the lift pump, and the second valve 
is at the entrance of the discharge pipe. The 
first up stroke of the plunger gives more 
room to the air in the barrel. It expands to 
fill the whole space and the air pressure in 
the barrel and on the suction valve is de- 
creased. The air in the 
suction pipe, being thus at 
a greater pressure, forces 
up the suction valve and 
expands into the barrel. 
This decreases the air 
pressure in the pipe and 
the atmospheric pressure 
on the water in the well 
forces water into the pipe 
until the weight of water, plus the air pressure 
in the pump, is equal to the atmospheric pres- 
sure on the water in the well. 

On the first down stroke the suction valve 
closes and air is forced into the discharge pipe. 
The next two or three up and down strokes 
repeat this operation, and the air pressure in 
the pump is decreased to such an extent that 



SUCTION 
«--PIPE 



Fig. 32. Force pump with 
solid plunger. 



90 



HOME WATERWORKS 



the atmospheric pressure, on the water in the 
well, forces water into the barrel of the pump. 
After this, the up strokes lift the atmospheric 
pressure from the water in the barrel and the 
atmospheric pressure on the water in the well 
drives more water into the barrel. On the down 
strokes, the water in the barrel is forced partly 
into the air chamber, and partly into the dis- 
charge pipe. The air chamber keeps up a 
continuous stream by forcing water into the 
discharge pipe while the plunger is on the up 
stroke. 

The type of force pump in 
common use (Fig. 33) is like 
the lift pump, in that one 
valve is at the bottom of the 
cylinder and the other in 
the plunger. It differs, in 
that the top of the pump is 
closed and there is usually 
an air chamber on the dis- 
charge pipe. In some the 
top is closed by a water-tight stuffing box 
through which the plunger rod works (see Fig. 
33). In others the plunger rod passes down 




SUCTION 
-PIPE 



Force pump 
with lift bucket. 



PUMPS AND THEIR ACTION 91 

through a pipe, at the bottom of which there is 
an upper cylinder in which an upper plunger- 
bucket works. This serves to keep the water 
from flowing out at the top of the pump and 
also forces water into the discharge pipe on 
the down stroke (see Fig. 38). In this style of 
pump the barrel of the pump is generally used 
as an air chamber. 

The air chamber makes the stream continu- 
ous. The air chamber is placed on the dis- 
charge pipe to prevent strains and to keep up 
a continuous supply of water in the discharge 
pipe. Its action, in keeping up a continuous 
discharge, is based on Boyle's Law mentioned 
above; namely, when the pressure on a gas is 
increased or decreased, its volume decreases or 
increases and the change in volume is in the 
inverse ratio to the change in pressure; also, 
air exerts a back pressure, equal to that upon 
it. 

If at the beginning the chamber is full of 
air at atmospheric pressure, 15 lbs. per square 
inch, then when the air has been compressed 
to one-half its volume the pressure is two at- 
mospheres, 30 lbs. per square inch, or 15 lbs. 



92 HOME WATERWORKS 

per square inch above the pressure of the 
atmosphere. When the air is compressed to 
one-third its volume the pressure is three 
atmospheres, 45 lbs. per square inch, or 30 
lbs. per square inch more than atmospheric 
pressure, etc. 

On the up stroke of the plunger in Fig. 33 
water is driven partly into the discharge pipe 
and partly into the air chamber. The air in 
the chamber is compressed and, during the 
down stroke of the plunger, it expands and 
forces water into the discharge pipe and thus 
keeps up a continuous stream. 

Air chamber prevents strains. The air cham- 
ber prevents strains because of the following 
facts. Water is practically incompressible and 
it can escape from the discharge pipe at only a 
limited rate. If there is no air chamber and 
the pump and discharge pipe are full of water, 
any extra force exerted by the engine must be 
taken up in some way. The water cannot do 
this, therefore it is taken up by the pump or 
engine, that is, the pump or engine gives at 
some point and is strained. If, however, there 
is an air chamber, any extra force is taken up 



PUMPS AND THEIR ACTION 93 



in compressing the air and all straining is pre- 
vented. 

Air chamber on the suction pipe. When the 
suction pipe is long, an air chamber is gener- 
ally placed on it near the pump. Its action 
in this case is two-fold : first, it brings the wa- 
ter, moving in the long suction pipe to rest 
gradually, and thus prevents strains in the 
pump and suction pipe ; second, it prevents jars 
on the plunger bucket and rod, on the up stroke 
of the piston. This is its chief function, which 
may be explained as fol- 
lows. 

Let us suppose that 
the distance from the 
water in the well to the 
bottom of the plunger 
is 12 feet. This height 
of water gives a pres- 




. !12 FOOT COLUMN OF 

15 LBS. 16 LBS. W*TER EXERTS 5 LBS. 

| |. ^ PE R SQUARE INCH" j 



ALL PRESSURES ARE IN LBS. 
PER SQUARE INCH 



sure of about 5 lbs. per =p==F~= 

square inch. At the in- ■^ = : — - 

stant the plunger ends 

the down stroke and 

is just beginning the up stroke, the pressures 

are as represented in Fig. 34. On the water 



Fig. 34. 



Air chamber on suc- 
tion pipe. 



94 HOME WATERWORKS 

in the well the pressure of the atmosphere 
down is 15 lbs. per square inch. Against this 
is the weight of water in the suction pipe, 5 
lbs. per square inch ; this leaves 15 — 5 = 10 
lbs., pressing upwards on the bottom of the pis- 
ton, and on the air in the chamber. The air in 
the chamber presses back on the water with the 
same force, namely, 10 lbs. per square inch. 

The atmosphere presses down upon the 
plunger and therefore the engine, lifting the 
plunger, lifts 15 — 10 or 5 lbs. per square inch. 
This is the lift if the plunger moves up so 
slowly that the atmospheric pressure on the 
water in the well has time to set the water in 
the suction pipe in motion, and keeps it press- 
ing against the bottom of the plunger at the 
rate of 10 lbs. per square inch. When the 
plunger moves up rapidly, however, the water 
cannot be set in motion quickly enough to fol- 
low it, and the whole pressure of the atmo- 
sphere, 15 lbs. per square inch, is thrown on 
the plunger. The air chamber comes into ef- 
fect here ; as soon as the plunger begins to rise, 
the air in the chamber expands, and since there 
is very little water between it and the plunger, 



PUMPS AND THEIR ACTION 95 

it sets this water in motion quickly and keeps 
it pressing against the bottom of the plunger 
and decreases the lift for a short time. Dur- 
ing this time the water in the suction pipe is 
set in motion by the atmospheric pressure on 
the water in the well and thus the pressure of 
the water upwards against the plunger is main- 
tained at a little under 10 lbs. per square inch, 
and the lifting force required on the piston is 
uniformly a little above 5 lbs. per square inch. 
That is, if the pump has no air chamber on the 
suction pipe and the plunger is moving rapidly, 
the weight on the plunger, for a short time at 
the beginning of the up stroke, is 15 lbs. on 
each square inch of area of the plunger; where- 
as if the pump has an air chamber on the suc- 
tion pipe, the weight on the plunger, during the 
whole up stroke, is very much less, in this case 
a little over 5 lbs. on each square inch of area 
of the plunger. Thus without an air chamber, 
there is an extra strain on the plunger, plunger 
rod and engine at the beginning of each up 
stroke; but with an air chamber, there is no 
such extra strain. 



CHAPTER VIII 

STANDARD TYPES OF PUMPS 

The pitcher pump? The pitcher pump (Fig. 
35) is generally used to lift water from a cis- 
tern or well to the kitchen sink. It is a lift 
pump similar to that described on 
page 85. One valve is in the 
plunger; the other — the suction 
valve — is at the bottom of the cyl- 
inder which is also the body of the 
pump. The suction pipe is at- 

Fig. 35. Pitcher 

pump. tached to the body of the pump be- 
low the suction valve. The handle is reversible 
so that water may be pumped from any side. 

If a perfect vacuum could be produced in 
a pump, the pressure of the atmosphere on the 
water in the cistern would force water up thirty- 
four feet in the suction pipe and cylinder. In 
practice, however, a perfect vacuum cannot be 
produced in a pump, and as a result the pump 

96 




«w 



STANDARD TYPES OF PUMPS 97 

cylinder is generally so placed that the plunger 
valve comes within fifteen or twenty feet of the 
water level. The usual distance for the pitcher 
pump is fifteen feet or less. 

The house force pump. The house force 
pump (Fig. 36) is usually placed at the kitchen 
sink to pump water from a cis- £0^t\ 
tern or well into a tank in the !^"lsTfl 
attic. There is a valve in the ^JlmS \ 
plunger and another at the base iPsM§§ \ 
of the cylinder, as in the pitcher (/ > jjjH | 
pump. The plunger, however, vpafis^y 
works through a stuffing box at Fig - p mp Force 
the top, which prevents water from escaping 
when the pump is being used to force water 
above the level of the pump. 

The pump rod is jointed, to allow that part of 
it which is in the barrel to move in a vertical 
direction only. The cock in the spout of the 
pump, shown in Fig. 36 has three uses. When 
it is out, it closes the spout so that water may 
be forced from the pump to an elevated tank; 
when it is in, it closes the discharge pipe from 
the elevated tank, so that no water can pass 
from this pipe to the pump or spout. The 



98 



HOME WATERWORKS 



pump may then be used as an ordinary lift 
pump. When the cock is half in and half out, 
water flows from the tank through the discharge 
pipe and out at the spout, or in other 
words, in this position it serves to 
draw water from the elevated tank. 
The handle of this pump is rever- 
sible and the pump is usually 
placed fifteen feet or less above 
the water level. 

Well lift pump. The pump 
shown in Fig. 37 is a typical well 
lift pump ; the part above the well 
platform is called the pump standard. 
The pipe from the standard to the cyl- 
inder is called the set length. The suc- 
tion pipe, not shown in the figure, is 
attached to the lower end of the cylin- 
der. The object in placing the cylinder 
below the well platform is two-fold: 

Fig. 37. r 

^ump! ft first, the suction distance is decreased, 
because the cylinder is brought nearer to the 
water in the well ; second, the pump is made anti- 
freezing, because the cylinder is below the frost 
line, and a small hole tapped in the pipe just 




STANDARD TYPES OF PUMPS 99 

above the cylinder allows the water to now ont 
of the body of the pump when pumping is 
stopped. 

The set length is usually four feet long, but 
this is not sufficient if the water in the well 
is very deep or if the climate is very cold in 
winter. For good suction the bottom of the 
cylinder should be within fifteen feet or less of 
the water in the well, and the best arrangement 
is to place the cylinder in the water. For very 
cold climates it is well to place the cylinder ten 
feet below the platform and better to place it in 
the water. 

The pitcher pump and cistern force pump 
described above cannot be made anti-freezing 
in this manner, because the cylinder is in the 
pump standard, but this is accomplished by 
so arranging them that when the handle is 
raised to its full height, the plunger is let down 
to the bottom of the cylinder and trips the 
valves; that is, opens both valves, whereupon 
the water runs back into the well. 

Well force pump. In the force pump shown 
in Fig. 38 the pump standard is the part above 
the well platform, below this is the set length, 




100 HOME WATERWORKS 

then the cylinder, and the suction pipe (not 
shown) is attached to the lower end of the cylin- 
der. The whole inside of the standard acts as 
the air chamber; water is forced 
into it on each half stroke of the 
plunger, whereby the air is com- 
pressed and forces the water out 
through the discharge pipe in an 
even stream. The plunger rod 
passes down through the inner 
tube of the set length and the 
water passes up in the space between 
the inner and outer tube. 

There are two plungers on the 
plunger rod; the lower one works in 
the outer cylinder and the upper one 
in the inner cylinder. The inner cyl- 
inder has just one-half the volume 
of the lower half of the outer cylin- 

cuss " 

"^ der. On the up stroke the lower 
fSce pump, plunger or lift bucket lifts water, 
of which half passes into the inner cylinder, 
and half up towards the air chamber. On 
the down stroke, that which passed into the in- 
ner cylinder is forced up towards the air cham- 



f 



' 



STANDARD TYPES OF PUMPS 101 

ber. The pump, then, is double acting in the 
sense that it forces water into the air chamber 
at each half stroke, but it is not entirely 
double acting because it draws water from 
the suction pipe only on the up stroke. A 
small hole is tapped in the outer pipe of the 
set length, to allow the water to run out of the 
pump when pumping is stopped; that is, the 
pump is anti-freezing. 

In deep wells the cylinder is divided; the in- 
ner cylinder, in which the plunger bucket works, 
is placed five feet below the well platform, 
and the outer cylinder, with the suction valve, 
is lowered into the water. The lift bucket 
works in the lower cylinder, and is joined to 
the upper plunger, by a three-eighths-inch steel 
rod. The frost vent may be placed at any point 
in the pipe, above the lower cylinder. 

This pump may be used in any kind of well, 
but is especially designed for drilled wells. 
The cylinders are made small enough to pass 
through a well casing three inches in diameter. 
They are designed for wells of any depth to 
one hundred and fifty feet.. 

The branch pipe force pump. This pump 



102 



HOME WATERWORKS 




(Fig. 39) is so arranged that it will deliver 
water either to the spout above the platform 
or to an underground service pipe. The pump 
is fastened to the platform by a ring 
base not shown. 

The suction or supply pipe is at- 
tached at the end of the lower cylinder 
marked " supply.' ' The lower cylin- 
der in which the lift bucket works may 
be placed as shown in the figure, when 
the pump is used in a shallow well or 
cistern. In deep wells, however, it is 
lowered into the water, and the plunger 
rod and connecting pipe are lengthened ; 
the upper cylinder, in which the plunger 
bucket works, has the position shown, 
whether the well is shallow or deep. The 
pump is double acting, in the same sense 
that the pump last described is; that is, 
Fig. 39.it forces water to the discharge pipe on 

Branch 

pipe each half stroke, but draws water from the 

force ' 

pump. gllc £[ on pipe only on the up stroke. The 
standard, which is also the set length in this 
case, is a one-and-one-half -inch steel pipe. It is 
closed at the top and acts as the air chamber. 



STANDARD TYPES OF PUMPS 103 



The three-way cock is placed four feet below 
the well platform and the water is directed to 
the spout or to the underground service pipe 
by means of the cam movement above the spout. 
The pump as shown may be op- 
erated by hand or power. 

The siphon force pump. 
This pump (Fig. 40) is de- 
signed for use where the pump- 
ing appliance is not directly 
over the source of water 
supply; as for example, 
when water is being 
pumped from a stream or 
lake, and the windmill and 
pump are placed on the bank 
with the suction pipe ex- 
tending into the water; or, 
when the windmill is on the 
barn, the pump is placed 
in the stable beneath, Flg - 40, 
and the suction pipe extends to a well, stream 
or lake outside. It is used to pump water into 
an elevated tank and has a large capacity. It 
will lift water by suction the usual distance ver- 




Siphon force pump. 



104 HOME WATERWORKS 

tically, and any distance up to five hundred feet 
horizontally. 

The name siphon is rather misleading, as 
one is apt to think that this is an important 
part of the pump. There is a slight siphonage, 
since the inlet pipe is above the suction valve. 
For example, if this distance is one and a half 
feet, there is a siphonage of this amount, but 
this does not, and cannot, increase the height 
the pump may be placed above the water level. 
The gain in having the inlet pipe above the suc- 
tion valve is that there is always some water 
left in the cylinder and thus the cylinder is al- 
ways primed. 

A good feature of this pump is, that by re- 
moving the top, the lift bucket and suction 
valve may be examined without disturbing the 
suction or discharge pipes. 

Double-acting low-down force pump. The 
force pump shown in Fig. 41 is a true double- 
acting pump, because it draws water from the 
suction pipe and forces it into the discharge 
pipe at each half stroke. It is really two 
pumps in one, for there are two suction valves 
and two discharge-pipe check valves. Only one 



STANDABD TYPES OF PUMPS 105 



suction pipe and one discharge pipe are used, 
however, because only one suction valve and 
one discharge valve are working at any 
one time. The plunger is double and 
moves horizontally in a single cylinder 
which is open at both ends. 

The fact that the handle moves in a 
horizontal direction makes the pump- 
ing easier. In working an ordinary up- 
and down-handle, a great deal of the 
work a man does is used in 
lifting the upper part of his 
body on each up stroke. This 
work is not done on a 
horizontal stroke and 
therefore the work is 
easier. The cog-wheel- 
and - ratchet arrange- 
ment of the handle and plunger also makes 
pumping easier: first, because the plunger rod 
has a straight-line motion and therefore there is 
little friction in the stuffing box ; second, because 
the handle has its full leverage in all positions ; 
third, because the roller bearing at the back of 
the plunger rod decreases the friction on that 




Fig. 41. Double-acting low- 
down force pump. 



106 HOME WATERWORKS 

side. The pump will lift water the ordinary 
suction distance, and it is used to force water 
from a well or cistern into an elevated tank 
or into a pneumatic tank. The pump shown 
in the figure has a special arrangement for 
pumping air, when it is used in connection with 
a pneumatic tank. The air pump is the small 
cylinder shown at one end of the pump ; it has a 
plunger connected to the main plunger rod. 
When air is needed in the tank, a tap is turned 
and air is forced into the discharge pipe with 
the water. When the tap is reversed, the air 
moves in and out of the cylinder at each stroke 
but is not forced into the discharge pipe. 

Deep well cylinders. The cylinders shown in 
Fig. 42 are used in deep wells. They are 
placed at a sufficient depth to be below the wa- 
ter level when the pump is working at its nor- 
mal rate ; and they are connected to the working 
head of the pump by a discharge pipe through 
which the plunger rod works, and through 
which the water passes to the service pipe at 
or near the surface. Cylinder I is made es- 
pecially strong for heavy work, the spring as- 
suring quick closing of the plunger valve on the 



STANDARD TYPES OF PUMPS 107 



i! 



B 



in 



ii 



Fig. 42. Deep well cylinders. 



108 HOME WATERWORKS 

up stroke. Cylinder II with ball valves is the 
one in most common use for very deep wells. 
It is made one size smaller than the discharge 
pipe so that the lift bucket and suction valve 
may be removed for repairs without disturbing 
the discharge pipe. Cylinder III does not re- 
quire a discharge pipe to hold it in place; it is 
fitted with an expansion ring by means of which 
it can be fixed at any point in the well casing. 
With this cylinder, the well casing serves to 
carry the water to the surface and the cost of 
a discharge pipe is saved. 

The rotary pump. The rotary pump (Fig. 
43) has neither plunger nor valves. It consists 
of a casing in which two runners revolve in 
opposite directions. The smaller pumps make 
from one to two hundred revolutions per min- 
ute, the larger ones used for fire purposes make 
as many as three hundred and fifty revolutions 
per minute. The suction pipe enters the casing 
at the bottom and the discharge pipe at the 
top. 

The pump works as follows: The runner 
blades move upwards in front of the suction 
pipe and carry air with them. This creates a 



STANDARD TYPES OF PUMPS 109 

partial vacuum in the suction pipe, and the 
atmospheric pressure on the water in the well 
forces water up the suction pipe into the casing. 
As soon as the water is forced above the runner 
blades it is driven by them into the discharge 
pipe, and a fresh supply is forced into the cas- 




Fig. 43. Rotary pump. 

ing by the atmospheric pressure on the water 
in the well. Rotary pumps lift' water by suc- 
tion the usual suction distance ; the small pumps 
have a total lift, suction and discharge, of about 
seventy-five feet; the large fire pumps have a 
total lift of several hundred feet. Rotary 
pumps are usually driven by some form of en- 
gine. 



no 



HOME WATERWORKS 



The centrifugal pump. The centrifugal 
pump (Fig. 44) also has neither plunger nor 
valves except, in some cases, a check valve on 
the suction or discharge pipe. It consists of 



Primer Gland 

Primer PlunqerRod 
Primer Plunder 

Primer Body 



.Primer Handle 
^Primer Air Pump Cover 
.Primer Crab 
Primer Cover 



Discha rqe Flany 

Suction Flanqe 

iFront Side- 




Primer Base 
Suction Flanqe 



Fig. 44. Centrifugal pump. 



a cylindrical casing inside of which revolves a 
single runner. The suction pipe enters the cas- 
ing at the centre and the discharge pipe at the 
edge. 



STANDARD TYPES OF PUMPS 111 

The working of the pump is as follows. 
Before pumping is begun, the casing must 
be filled with water to prime it, because the 
revolving runner does not create a sufficient 
vacuum to allow the atmospheric pressure on 
the water in the well to force water into the 
casing. When the pump is primed and the 
runner is started revolving, the water is forced 
to the outer rim of the casing and escapes 
through the discharge pipe; this leaves a 
vacuum at the centre of the casing and the at- 
mospheric pressure on the water in the well 
forces water up the suction pipe into the casing. 
This water in turn is driven into the discharge 
pipe and more is forced up from the well, and 
so on; the process continues as long as the 
runner revolves. 

The action of the pump may be illustrated 
as follows. If an iron nut, tied to a string, is 
revolved in a circle and the string let go, the 
nut flies off at a tangent to the circle. Simi- 
larly, the water is made to revolve in the cas- 
ing and when it comes opposite the discharge 
pipe moves into it with the velocity of the run- 
ner but in a direction tangent to the circle. 



112 HOME WATERWORKS 

This is the reason the discharge pipe is placed 
at a tangent to the circle of the casing. 

The primer shown above the pump in the 
figure is used to prime the pump by hand. 
It is fitted to the suction pipe at the point the 
latter enters the casing. The primer is simply 
a small air pump operated by hand. There is 
a check valve on the discharge pipe which pre- 
vents air from entering the casing from that 
direction; therefore when the primer is oper- 
ated, air is drawn out of the casing and suction 
pipe, and the atmospheric pressure on the water 
in the well forces water into them. In one form 
of pump in which the shaft is vertical and the 
runner and casing horizontal, the necessity for 
priming is obviated, by placing the runner and 
casing below the water level. 

Centrifugal pumps are in use in all kinds 
of pumping and especially for irrigation and 
drainage. They have a large water way and 
no valves, and thus are able to pass stones, 
twigs, leaves, etc., which would clog an ordinary 
pump. 

The air-lift pump. Another form of pump 
which has neither valves nor plunger is the 



STANDAED TYPES OF PUMPS 113 



air-lift pump. The drawing in Fig. 45 shows 
the general arrangement of the Saunders air- 
lift pump. Above the ground there is the air 



No. 597,023. 



W. L. SAUNDERS 
Air Lift Pump 



Patented Jan. 11, 1898. 







ij r w u — A u <mC J 






Fig. 45. Air-lift pump. 



compressor A and the air-storage tank B. In 
the well is a double pipe, the outer one is the 
compressed air pipe and the inner one the dis- 



114 HOME WATERWORKS 

charge pipe. This double pipe must be low- 
ered into the well until at least half of it is 
below the water level when the pump is working 
at its normal rate. That is, there must be at 
least fifty per cent submergence when the pump 
is running. The reason for this will be seen 
later. 

The action of the pump is as follows. The 
compressor A is run by some form of engine. 
It compresses air in the tank B, and when the 
tap "f" is opened, compressed air from the 
tank enters the outer pipe in the well and forces 
the water down from the level xx to the level 
GG. At the beginning there is a large column 
of water in the discharge pipe which must be 
forced out. After this is done the pump as- 
sumes its regular operation. It is as follows. 
Compressed air escapes into the discharge pipe ; 
this decreases the pressure in the outer pipe 
and water rises above the level GG and enters 
the discharge pipe. The compressor restores 
the former air pressure and more air escapes 
into the discharge pipe and drives up the water 
above it. The pressure is thus again reduced 
and water again enters the discharge pipe, etc. 



STANDARD TYPES OF PUMPS 115 



At one instant water enters the discharge pipe, 
the next instant air, etc. On the inside of the 
discharge pipe the condition is that shown in 
the figure; the column which is moving up the 
pipe is made up of alternate layers of water 
and air. 

Now let us see why the water and air move 
up the discharge pipe. We can show this as 
follows : 

In Fig. 46, I is a U-shaped tube contain- 
ing water. The water level is the same in each 
arm because each 
column exerts the 
same pressure. If 
now we fill one 
arm with an oil 
which is lighter 
than water, the water will balance a higher 
column of oil. For example, if the oil is 
eight-tenths as heavy as water, a column of 
water eight inches high will balance a column 
of oil ten inches high, as is shown in II. This 
is also shown in III, where an outer column 
of water eight inches high is balancing an inner 
column of oil ten inches high. 




116 HOME WATERWORKS 

This is precisely what happens in an air- 
lift pump. The heavier column is the water in 
the well from xx to GG. The lighter column 
is that in the discharge pipe; it is part wa- 
ter and part air, and since air is very much 
lighter than water, the average weight per 
cubic foot is very much less than that of 
water, and therefore it takes a greater length 
of column to balance the column of water in 
the well. Or, stating it another way, if there 
is enough air with the water in the discharge 
pipe to make its pressure per square inch at 
the level GG, less than the pressure of the 
water column in the well per square inch at 
the level GG, the water column in the well 
will force the air and water out of the dis- 
charge pipe. This explains why the sub- 
mergence must be at least fifty per cent; that 
is, why the length of the pipe xx to GG must 
be at least one-half the length from the top of 
the discharge pipe to GG; because the water 
column in the well must have a sufficient length 
to make its pressure greater than that of the 
column of water and air in the discharge pipe. 

Different methods of admitting the air to the 



STANDARD TYPES OF PUMPS 117 



discharge pipe are shown by the drawings in 
Fig. 47. In 1 the air is carried down a branch 
pipe and admitted at the side. In 2 the air is 
admitted from a branch pipe through an an- 
nular ring which admits air to the discharge 
pipe equally on all sides. The system illus- 



iL-fc. 





Fig. 47. Methods of admitting air to the discharge pipe. 

trated in 3 is that described above. In 4 the 
air is carried down a central tube and admitted 
to the discharge pipe through a side vent. 

The air-lift pump will lift water from a well 
of any depth and force it to practically any 
height, if the proper amount of submergence is 
secured. 

The chain pump. The most primitive and 
unsanitary method of lifting water is by means 



118 



HOME WATERWORKS 



of a bucket attached to a pole or chain, because 
the top of the well is usually open to contamina- 
tion by dust, disease germs, leaves, etc. To 
this class belongs the "Old Oaken Bucket." 
Like a great many other old and picturesque 
things, it is more poetic than commendable. 
The chain pump (Fig. 48) is related to this 
type of water-lifting appliance 
in that it lifts water in buckets. 
It is an immense improvement 
on the well-sweep and bucket, 
however, and is as sanitary as 
any pump, if the top is kept 
closed. In fact the buckets mov- 
ing down into the water carry 
air with them, which has a bene- 
ficial effect on the water if the 
air in the well is kept free from dust and its at- 
tendant disease germs. 

The chain pump is different in principle from 
the pumps described above, in that it does not 
make use of any of the properties of air, since it 
raises water by a simple straight lift. 

In the pump shown in Fig. 48 a series of 




Fig. 48. Chain pump. 



STANDAED TYPES OF PUMPS 119 

buckets which just fit the pipe are fastened 
together in a chain and, as they move up the 
pipe, each bucket lifts and carries up the water 
above it and delivers it at the spout. 



CHAPTER IX 
RUNNING WATER 

GRAVITY SUPPLY AND THE ELEVATED TANK 

There are three methods of supplying the 
home with running water: first, by gravity, 
from a well or spring on higher ground; second, 
by gravity from an elevated tank; third, by 
means of a pneumatic tank. For those who are 
so fortunate as to live near an elevated spring, 
the simplest and cheapest method of obtaining 
running water is to pipe it from the spring to 
the house, stables and fields. This method is 
only possible in a hilly or rolling country and 
even there the spring may be too low or too far 
away. In many cases, however, an artificial 
spring may be made by sinking a well on a hill- 
side. If the water level in this well is above 
the house and barns, water will flow to them by 
gravity. This is a convenient and inexpensive 
arrangement since the water is brought to the 

120 



RUNNING WATER 



121 



house and barns without pumping ; for a fuller 
description, see page 61 above. 
Elevated tank. The commonest form of 




Fig. 49. General view of the elevated tank system of water supply. 

gravity supply is by means of an elevated tank, 
into which water is pumped, and from which 
it runs to the house, stables and fields. A gen- 
eral view of such a system of water supply is 



122 HOME WATERWORKS 

given in Fig. 49. The tank is on a special 
tower; the water is pumped into it by a wind- 
mill and pump placed over the well. Branches 
from the supply pipe deliver water to the stable, 
the house, and to watering troughs in the fields. 
Float valves in the watering troughs keep the 
water at a fixed level. 

There are three points to be settled regard- 
ing a storage tank, namely, its size, its elevation 
and its location. The first is its size, and that 
depends upon the amount of water needed and 
upon the kind of power used for pumping. If 
the water is pumped by windmill it is advisable 
to have a tank that will hold at least three days' 
supply, to tide over a time when the wind is not 
blowing. If the water is pumped by hand or 
by an engine which is independent of the 
weather, a tank holding a supply for one day is 
sufficient. The table below is made up from 
figures supplied by manufacturers of water sup- 
ply equipment. 

WATER NEEDED PER DAY IN U. S. GALLONS 

For each member of family for kitchen and 
washing 10 



RUNNING WATER 123 

For each member of the family for all pur- 
poses, including bath and water closet . 25 

Each horse 10 

Each cow 10 

Each pig 2 

Each sheep 1 

For example, on an average dairy farm of 
100 acres, with a family of 6 and with stock con- 
sisting of 25 cows, 5 horses, 12 hogs and 15 
sheep, the amount needed each day would be: 
family, for all purposes, 150 gals., cattle 250 
gals., horses 50 gals., hogs 24 gals., sheep 15 
gals. Total — 489 gallons, say, 500 gallons. 

If then, the pumping is to be done with an 
engine independent of the weather, a 500-gal- 
lon tank will be large enough. If the pump- 
ing is to be done by windmill, however, it is 
advisable to have a tank to hold a supply for 
three days, or 1500 gallons. 

Dimensions of tank. If we wish to build a 
tank to hold a certain number of gallons of wa- 
ter, we must know its dimensions. We find the 
dimensions of a tank as follows. We know that 
a U. S. gallon holds 231 cubic inches and that a. 



124 HOME WATEEWOEKS 

cubic foot is 1728 cubic inches ; therefore if we 
divide 1728 by 231 we find that there are nearly 
7.5 gallons in one cubic foot. Let us suppose we 
are trying to find the dimensions of a tank 
which will hold 500 gallons. If we divide 500 
gallons by 7.5, the number of gallons in a cubic 
foot, we find that a 500 gallon tank must hold 
66% cubic feet, or say, about 70 cubic feet. If 
the tank is to be rectangular, we find its volume 
in cubic feet by multiplying the inside length 
by the inside width and by the inside depth. A 
tank to hold about 70 cubic feet, then, could be : 

5 feet long by 4 feet wide by 3% feet deep ; or, 

6 feet long by 4 feet wide by about 3 feet deep ; 
or, 6 feet long by 5 feet wide by 2% feet deep, 
etc. 

If we wish to know the dimensions of a 1500 
gallon rectangular tank we proceed in the same 
way: dividing 1500 gallons by 7.5, the number 
of gallons in a cubic foot, we find that the tank 
must hold just 200 cubic feet; therefore its in- 
side dimensions might be: 10 feet long by 5 
feet wide by 4 feet deep; or 10 feet long by 6 
feet wide by 3% feet deep ; etc. 

To find the volume of a cylindrical tank, the 



RUNNING WATER 125 

inside diameter is squared and divided by four ; 
then this is multiplied by twenty-two sevenths 
and by the inside depth ; for example, a cylindri- 
cal tank 6 feet in diameter and 7 feet deep will 
hold-^xf x? = 198 cubic feet. 

4 7 

If we wish to find the dimensions of a tank 
which will hold 500 gallons or about 70 cubic 
feet, we may calculate the volume using differ- 
ent diameters and depths until we strike one 
near 70 cubic feet; or .we may decide on a cer- 
tain diameter and calculate the correct depth; 
or decide on a certain depth and calculate the 
correct diameter. For example, if we decide to 
have the diameter 5 feet, we calculate the depth 
as follows. Let D represent the depth, then: 
5 _L 5 x^x D = 70 cubic feet ; or 2 -^= 70 ; or D = ^ 
= 3.56 ; that is, the depth D is a little over 3% 
feet. Similarly, if the diameter is taken as 6 
feet, the depth works out to be 2.47 feet or a 
little less than 2% feet. In a similar manner, 
we may calculate the dimensions of a cylindrical 
tank large enough to hold 1500 gallons or 200 
cubic feet, and of tanks of any volume we 
choose. 

In each case discussed above we have found 



126 HOME WATERWORKS 

the exact inside depth required to hold the quan- 
tity of water stated. This is the depth from 
the overflow pipe to the bottom of the tank, and 
since the overflow pipe is placed four inches 
below the top of the tank, the actual depths will 
be four inches greater than those found above. 

Weight of tank when full. In placing a tank 
in an elevated position, care must be taken to 
see that the support is strong enough to hold 
it. This is especially true when the tank is 
placed in the attic of the house. A U. S. gallon 
of water weighs 8% lbs.; therefore, a tank 
holding 500 gallons holds 500 X 8y 3 = 4166 lbs. 
of water, or over 2 tons. The total weight is 
this amount, plus the weight of the tank when 
empty. A 1500 gallon tank holds 1500 X 8% = 
12,500 lbs. of water, or 6% tons. 

The tank located in the attic or hay mow 
should, if possible, be placed over a strong par- 
tition and should be supported by a number of 
long, stout timbers running across the beams, 
in order to obtain as large a supporting area as 
possible. For this reason also, house tanks are 
usually made rectangular and shallow. 

Elevation of tank. When the tank is at some 



RUNNING WATER 127 

distance from the house it is usually placed at 
such a height that the bottom is ten feet above 
the highest water tap. This elevation secures 
a good flow of water at the upper taps. If the 
tank is just above the tap, as when it is in the 
attic, a less elevation will suffice, since the con- 
necting pipe is short and therefore the friction 
in the pipe line is small. 

Each foot of elevation gives a pressure of 
.434 lbs. per square inch at a water tap. This 
is calculated as follows. A cubic foot of water 
weighs 62y 2 lbs. and there are 144 square inches 
in one square foot. The pressure on one square 
foot of water one foot deep is 62% lbs., and 
therefore the pressure on one square inch is 
62y 2 divided by 144, or .434 lbs. — that is, water 
one foot deep exerts a pressure of .434 lbs. on 
each square inch, and water standing 10 feet 
above a tap will exert a pressure of 4.34 lbs. per 
square inch at the tap. 

Location of tank. The tank may be placed 
in the attic; in the hay mow; on a tower; or 
on high ground near the house and stables. 
The most difficult task in connection with an 
elevated tank, in northern latitudes, is to pre- 



128 HOME WATERWORKS 

vent the water from freezing in winter. This 
difficulty is largely avoided if the tank is placed 
in the attic with the supply pipes along the in- 
ner walls of the house; or if it is placed in 
the hay loft, with the pumps in the stable and 
the supply pipe underground to the house. 

The latter arrangement is generally used on 
farms in Canada and the northern part of the 
United States. The tank is placed in the hay 
mow, which is usually full of hay during the 
winter, and therefore the, water in the tank is 
protected from frost. The pump and piping 
are placed in the cow or horse stable below, 
where the natural heat of the animals is suffi- 
cient to prevent freezing, and where the appara- 
tus may be easily examined at any time, winter 
or summer. 

If the windmill is the source of power, it is 
placed on the peak of the roof, which saves 
part of the expense of a windmill tower. If the 
water in the well is below suction distance 
(about twenty feet), a dry well may be dug be- 
low the stable floor, deep enough to bring the 
cylinder within suction distance of the water in 
the well; or the windmill and pump may be 



RUNNING WATER 129 

placed over the well. In the latter case, the 
pump cylinder is lowered into the well, near to 
or under the water surface. In every case the 
piping from the tank to the house and to the 
well is placed underground. If the power is a 
gasoline or hot-air engine it is placed beside the 
pump in the stable, or in a house built over the 
well. 

In warm climates the tank may be placed out- 
side on the windmill tower or on a separate 
tower. This arrangement may also be used 
for a summer house where the water is needed 
only during the summer months. If it is used 
in cold climates the piping must be protected 
with three or four layers of insulating material 
boxed in. In very cold climates, a house is 
usually built to hold the tank, tower, engine and 
pump, and this is kept warm by a small fire kept 
burning continuously during the winter months. 

The tank may be placed on a hill if there is 
one of sufficient height within reasonable dis- 
tance of the house and barns. This is the best 
possible arrangement, because there is no ex- 
pense for a tower and no danger of the tank's 
falling; also, if it is banked up with earth 



130 HOME WATERWORKS 

and covered with a roof, and if the piping is 
placed underground, there is little danger from 
frost. 

Tank supplied from the eaves. In another 
form of gravity supply a storage tank is placed 
in the house or barn, in an elevated position, 
but sufficiently low to allow the water to run 
directly from the eaves into the tank. This 
arrangement saves the labor of pumping. The 
chief obstacle to the introduction of this method 
is that the floors in the ordinary house are not 
strong enough to bear the weight of a large 
tank and a large tank is needed to hold suffi- 
cient water to supply the house from one rain 
shower to the next. In many cases two tanks 
are used, a small one elevated and a large one 
in the cellar to hold the overflow. In other 
cases, a medium-sized tank is used and the well 
force pump is connected to it, to furnish the 
supply when rain water fails. 

Prices. To give the reader some idea of the 
cost of these tanks, the following retail cash 
prices are given. They are taken from the cur- 
rent price list of a large retail dealer. 



EUNNING WATER 131 

ROUND ly 2 IN. CYPRESS TANKS ROUND GALVANIZED STEEL TANKS 

Gallons Price Gallons Price 

175 $ 5.40 180 $ 5.00 

500 12.00 500 11.00 

1000 20.00 1000 17.00 

2000 28.00 2000 26.00 

STEEL TOWERS 

To hold a 1000-gallon tank, 20 feet high, 
$40.00. 

To hold a 2500-gallon tank, 20 feet high, 
$64.00. 

Towers 40 feet high cost about twice these 
amounts. 

Those who are thinking of installing a storage 
tank are advised to write for further particulars 
to the large dealers, who will -furnish catalogues 
and price lists. 



CHAPTEE X 
EUNNING WATEE 

THE PNEUMATIC TANK 

The pneumatic-tank system of supplying run- 
ning water has been on the market for the last 
ten or fifteen years, and has met with great 
favor. It is the best system, so far devised, for 
supplying running water to homes which are out 
of reach of a city water system and which have 
not a natural gravity supply. 

The outfit consists of an air-tight steel tank, 
a force pump, and piping to connect well to 
pump, pump to tank, and tank to house pipes. 
The tank is fitted with a water glass to show the 
height of the water, and a pressure gauge to 
indicate the air pressure. The tank may be 
placed in the cellar of the house ; in the stables ; 
or it may be buried in the ground. The essen- 
tial thing is, that it should be protected from 
frost. The pump may be placed at any conven- 

132 



EUNNING WATER 



133 




Fig. 50. Pneumatic tank water-supply system. 

ient point : at the well, in the stables, or in the 
cellar. It may be operated by any form of 
power: hand power, windmill, gasoline engine, 



134 



HOME WATERWORKS 




Fig. 51. Pneumatic tank water-supply system. 



RUNNING WATER 



135 



hot-air engine, electric motor, etc. These differ- 
ent sources of power are described in later 
chapters. 

How the pneumatic system works. The 
working of the system (see Fig. 53) is as fol- 
lows. The pump draws water from a well, cis- 
tern or other source and forces it into the air- 




DISCHARGE 
PIPE -- 



COM- 
PRESSED 
AIR 


-D 




b 

A 

CHECK 
VALVE 

I 


— WATER — 


,-— ^ 





Fig. 52. Pneumatic tank. 



*. TO 



Fig. 53. Sectional view of pneu- 
matic tank. 



tight steel tank T. The air in the tank is thus 
compressed to smaller volume and exerts a 
greater pressure down on the water. This air 
pressure forces the water out of the tank, up 
through the discharge pipe and out at the tap 
C in the upper part of the house. 

The property of air used in the pneumatic 
tank is that expressed by Boyle's Law explained 
in Chapter VI, namely : ' ' The volume of a gas 



136 HOME WAT'EEWOEKS 

varies inversely as the pressure upon it," and 
"the pressure exerted by a gas is equal to that 
exerted upon it. ' ' To understand how the pres- 
sure of the air in the tank varies as its volume 
is changed, we must understand the difference 
between absolute pressure and gauge pressure. 
Absolute pressure is the total pressure and 
gauge pressure is the pressure above atmo- 
spheric pressure. In the case of gases the ab- 
solute pressure is always 15 lbs. greater than 
the corresponding gauge pressure. For exam- 
ple, if a tank is standing open, the air in it is at 
an absolute pressure of 15 lbs. per square inch, 
because all our atmosphere is at that pressure ; 
but the gauge on the tank registers 0, that is, 
the gauge pressure is 0. We must remember 
further that when air is compressed to %, %, 
%, etc., of its first volume, it is its absolute 
pressure which is raised to 2, 3, 4, etc., times its 
first absolute pressure. For example, in the 
tank T, Fig. 53, if the tank is open at the be- 
ginning, it is full of air at an absolute pressure 
of one atmosphere, 15 lbs. per square inch. If, 
now, the tank is closed, and water is pumped in 
at the bottom until the tank is half full, as at A, 



RUNNING WATER 137 

the air is compressed to one-half its volume, and 
it exerts an absolute back pressure of two atmo- 
spheres. 

If the tank is filled with water until two- 
thirds full, as at B, the air is compressed to 
one-third the volume it had at first and it exerts 
an absolute back pressure of three atmospheres. 
Similarly, if the air is compressed to-~, 4> -j^ 
etc., of its first volume it will exert an absolute 
pressure of 4, 5, 10, etc., atmospheres. 

The air outside the tank is at an absolute 
pressure of one atmosphere, 15 lbs. per square 
inch. When the air in the tank is compressed 
to one-half its volume, it exerts an absolute 
pressure of two atmospheres, 30 lbs. per square 
inch, but only 15 lbs. of this is available for lift- 
ing water, because, when a tap is opened to 
draw water, the atmosphere presses against the 
water in the tap with a force of 15 lbs. per 
square inch. Therefore, although the air in the 
tank is exerting a pressure of 30 lbs., there is 
only 30 — 15 = 15 lbs. of it available for lifting 
water. Similarly, when the air in the tank is 
compressed to one-third its volume it exerts an 
absolute pressure of three atmospheres, 45 lbs. 



138 



HOME WATERWORKS 



per square inch, but all that we can make use 
of to lift water is 45 — 15, or 30 lbs. per square 
inch. In other words, we must always subtract 
15 lbs. per square inch from the absolute pres- 
sure of the air in the tank, in order to find the 
pressure we have available to lift water. 

The gauge pres- 
sure, however, is the 
absolute pressure 
minus 15 lbs., there- 
fore if the gauge 
registers 15, 30 or 
50 lbs., etc., it means 
that we have 15, 30 
or 50 lbs. pressure 
per square inch available for lifting water. 

The height the water is raised. If the air 
in the tank is compressed, each pound of pres- 
sure will lift water 2.3 feet. This is shown as 
follows. One cubic foot of water weighs 62.5 
lbs.; therefore, water one foot deep exerts a 
pressure of 62.5 lbs. on one square foot or ^ 
=.434 lbs. per square inch. Stating this the 
other way round, .434 lbs. per square inch is 
the pressure exerted by water one foot deep. 




Fig. 54. Pneumatic tank operated 
by gasoline engine. 



RUNNING WATER 139 

Therefore, 1 lb. per square inch is the pressure 
exerted by water -~ == 2.3 feet deep. 

If the tank and pipe are both open to the air, 
the water in the pipe is at the same level as 
that in the tank. If now the tank is closed and 
water is pumped in until the air pressure indi- 
cated by the gauge is 1 lb. (that is, the air in the 
tank is at a pressure of 1 lb. above that outside), 
the water in the pipe will stand just 2.3 feet 
above that in the tank, because it takes a depth 
of 2.3 feet of water to exert a pressure of 1 
lb. per square inch. If water is pumped in un- 
til the pressure of the air in the tank is 2 lbs., 
the water in the pipe will be 2.3 X 2 = 4.6 feet 
above that in the tank. Similarly, 10 lbs. pres- 
sure per square inch in the tank will lift water 
in the pipe 2.3 X 10 = 23 feet; 15 lbs. pressure 
in the tank will lift water 15 X 2.3 = 34.5 feet, 
30 lbs. pressure in the tank will lift water 30 X 
2.3 = 69 ft., etc. 

Pressure of water at a tap. If the air pres- 
sure in the tank is, say, 15 lbs., as stated in the 
last paragraph, this will lift water in the pipe 
34.5 feet above the water in the tank. If the 
highest tap on the second floor is, say, 20 feet 



140 HOME WATERWORKS 

above the level of the water in the tank, the 
water pressure at the tap is equal to the pres- 
sure given by a depth of water of 34.5 — 20 = 
14.5 feet; or it is equal to the pressure that 




Fig. 55. Pneumatic tank with electrically driven pump. 

would be given by an elevated tank in which 
the water stands 14.5 feet above the tap. 

If the pressure in the tank is 30 lbs. per 
square inch, it will, as shown above, lift water 
in the pipe 69 feet above the water in the tank, 
or at a tap 20 feet above the water in the tank it 
will give a water pressure equal to that given 
by an elevated tank in which the water stands 
69 — 20 = 49 feet above the tap. If the pres- 
sure in the tank is 60 lbs. per square inch, it 
will lift water 60 X 2.3 = 138 feet in a supply 
pipe, or at a tap 20 feet above the water in the 



SUNNING WATER 141 

tank, it will give a water pressure equal to that 

given by an elevated tank in which the water 

stands 138 — 20 = 118 feet above the tap, etc. 

It is seen from this that by increasing the air 

pressure in a pneumatic tank on the ground, a 

water pressure may be produced equal to that 

given by any elevated tank. 

Excess air pressure. As the water is forced 

out of the 

pneumatic 

tank, the air 

expands and 

therefore the 

air pressure 
decreases. In 

order to force 

all the water 

.-. . -, , Fig. 56. Pneumatic tank operated bv gaso- 

m the tank 10 line engine. 

the fixtures, it is necessary to carry a certain 
amount of excess air pressure in the tank. Ex- 
cess air pressure is the gauge pressure left when 
the last drop of water is being forced out of the 
tank. For the ordinary house it is advisable to 
have an excess pressure of 10 lbs., as this will 
lift the last part of the water 10 X 2.3 == 23 




142 HOME WATERWORKS 

feet, or 3 feet above a tap which is 20 feet above 
the bottom of the tank. 

A gauge pressure of 10 lbs. is an absolute 
pressure of 10 + 15 = 25 lbs. If a tank has 10 
lbs. gauge pressure or 25 lbs. absolute pressure 
when it is empty, it will have an absolute pres- 
sure of 25 X 2 = 50 lbs., when it is pumped half 
ful] of water, because, as we saw above, when 
the air is compressed to one-half its first vol- 
ume, its absolute pressure is doubled. An ab- 
solute pressure of 50 lbs. is a gauge pressure 
of 50 — 15 = 35 lbs. ; therefore, a gauge pres- 
sure of 10 lbs. when the tank is empty, becomes 
a gauge pressure of 35 lbs. when the tank is 
half full of water. If the tank is filled two- 
thirds full of water, the air is compressed to 
one-third its first volume and the absolute pres- 
sure is trebled, or is 25 X 3 = 75 lbs. This is 
a gauge pressure of 75 — 15 = 60 lbs. ; that is, 
a gauge of 10 lbs. when the tank is empty, be- 
comes a gauge pressure of 60 lbs. when the tank 
is two-thirds full of water. 

An excess pressure of 10 lbs. is sufficient for 
an ordinary house; but if water must be de- 
livered at a greater height, as in an office 



RUNNING WATER 143 

building, the excess pressure must of course be 
increased. 

The air is absorbed. From what has been 
said so far, it might be supposed that the air 
in the tank would last forever, and that it could 
be used over and over again. This is not quite 
true, however, because of a property of air 
winch has not yet been mentioned. This prop- 
erty is — "Air is absorbed by water.' ' All 
water in its natural state in rivers, lakes, etc., 
holds a certain amount of air absorbed in it. 
We realize that this is true, when we remember 
that fish live in water, and that they breathe by 
passing water through their gills where their 
blood is oxidized by the air absorbed in the 
water. The amount of air absorbed in water 
depends on the pressure of the air. A certain 
quantity is absorbed when the pressure is one 
atmosphere; twice this amount is absorbed at 
two atmospheres pressure; three times the 
amount at three atmospheres pressure, etc. 
For this reason, the air in the tank is gradually 
absorbed and passes out with the water; and 
the higher the air pressure used the more 
rapidly does the air disappear. To counter- 



144 HOME WATERWORKS 

balance this absorption, a fresh supply of air 
must be pumped in from time to time. When 
air is to be pumped, it is well to remember two 
points : first, to do the pumping when the tank 
is nearly empty, because then the pressure is 
low and the work easy, second, to drive the 
plunger to the end of its stroke, because the first 
part of the stroke simply compresses the air 
until its pressure is equal to that of the air in 
the tank, and the last part of the stroke forces 
the air into the tank. 

The size of the tank may be determined as 
was the size of the elevated tank in the last 
chapter. It must be remembered, however, that 
the tank is usually filled only two-thirds full of 
water, the other third being air. If a windmill 
is used to operate the force pump, a tank 
capable of holding three days' supply should 
be used. If the source of power is independent 
of the weather, a tank that will hold one day's 
supply is sufficient. 

Advantages of the pneumatic system. This 
system of water supply has a number of advan- 
tages. First, the tank is on the ground ; there- 
fore there is no danger of its falling, and if it 



EUNNING WATEE 145 

should leak, the water does not flood the house. 
Second, it is usually placed in a cellar or under- 
ground, and thus the water is kept cool in sum- 
mer and does not become too cold in winter; 
also, if the pipes are underground there is no 
danger of the water's freezing. Third, it is no 
trouble to secure ample pressure on the water 
at the highest fixture. Fourth, the tank being 
closed, the water cannot be contaminated by 
dust, insects, etc. Fifth, since the water is 
highly charged with air, organic impurities are 
rapidly oxidized and the water is purified. 
Sixth, the tank does not mar the landscape. 

A modification of the pneumatic system has 
been placed on the market lately, known as the 
Perry system. In this system air is forced into 
an air-tight steel tank by means of a hand air 
pump or some form of power air compressor. 
The compressed air is led from the tank to the 
well and operates an automatic pump which is 
placed below the water level. As soon as a tap 
is opened in the house, the compressed air 
forces water from the pump through the house- 
supply pipe and out at the tap. The advantage 
claimed for this system is that the water sup- 



146 HOME WATERWORKS 

plied to the tap is always water fresh from the 
well. 

The cost. The price of the pneumatic tank 
outfit varies, of course, with the size of tank and 
the kind of power used. A small equipment, 
consisting of a 220-gallon tank (150 gallons of 
water), with hand pump and all fixtures except 
suction pipe and house pipe, may be had for 
sixty dollars. The first cost is greater than 
that of an elevated tank, but on the other hand 
the heavy steel pneumatic tank will outlast a 
number of elevated tanks. 



■M 



CHAPTER XI 

THE SIPHON— THE HYDROSTATIC PAR- 
ADOX—THE KINETIC THEORY 

In Chapters VI to X we have studied the dif- 
ferent types of pumps and the different sys- 
tems of water supply in which they are used. 
Before going on to the study of the various 
appliances used to operate these pumps, we will 
devote a chapter to the siphon, the hydrostatic 
paradox, and the kinetic theory of gases, all of 
which have a bearing on the question of water 
supply. 

The siphon (Fig. 57) is an appliance used to 
lift water over an elevation by means of at- 
mospheric pressure. It may be so used when 
the outlet is below the level of the inlet, and 
when the elevation is not over from twenty to 
twenty-eight feet. It is an air-tight pipe in the 
shape of an inverted U, with one side longer 
than the other. The water is forced into the 
short side by atmospheric pressure and flows 

147 



148 



HOME WATEKWOBKS 



out the long side. To start the siphon the air 
must be removed from the pipe by some means. 
One method of doing this is to fill the entire 
pipe with water, plug the ends, invert it, and 
place the short end in the water to be lifted. 
When the plugs are removed the water will flow 
in at the short end, up over the elevation and 
out at the long end. Another 
method of removing the air, after 
I 1 o I the pipe is in place, is to place a 

J 3: <rui ± 

force pump at either end and force 
water through the pipe. A better 
way is to attach a pump to the 
long end by means of a tee, close 
the long end, and pump until 
water comes ; the water runs in at 
the short end, up over the bend, 
and down to the long end. If the pump is left 
in place, it may be used at any time to start the 
siphon, when the latter is stopped by the ac- 
cumulation of air at the top of the bend. 

The explanation of the working of the siphon 
is as follows. The pressure of the atmosphere 
will support a column of water thirty-four feet 
high if there is a vacuum above the water. 




Fig. 57. 

phon 



The si- 



THE SIPHON 149 

The siphon represented in Fig. 57 has the 
short arm ten feet above the water level A, and 
the long arm fifteen feet above the water level 

B. The pressure o# the atmosphere is practi- 
cally the same at A as at B, but if anything a 
trifle more at B than at A ; the difference, how- 
ever, is so small that the pressures may be con- 
sidered equal. The atmospheric pressure on 
A holds up the column AE, 10 feet long, and 
that on B the column BD, 15 feet long. The 
column BD is heavier than AE; therefore the 
pressure on B has more to lift than the pressure 
on A, and as a result the pressure on A forces 
water over the elevation and out at B. Stating 
it in another way, the pressure to the right at 
the point C, is the atmosphere minus the weight 
of ten feet of water ; the pressure to the left at 

C, is the atmosphere minus the weight of fifteen 
feet of water; therefore the pressure to the 
right is the greater, and the water moves to the 
right and out at the long end. 

The siphon has many uses. It may be em- 
ployed on the discharge pipe leading from a 
force pump into an elevated tank. It passes up 
over the edge of the tank and within about an 



150 HOME WATEEWOEKS 

inch of the bottom; this saves all the trouble of 
making a connection at the bottom of the tank. 
The water is pumped into the tank through this 
pipe and drives out the air, and when a tap at 
the sink or elsewhere is opened, the water flows 
back over the edge of the tank and out at the 
tap. 

It may also be used in a well on a hillside 
when the tap in the house or stables is below 
the water level in the well. 

In many cases the spring and house are on 
opposite sides of a rise of ground. A siphon 
may then be used to carry the water over the 
rise, if the house tap is below the level of the 
spring, and if the top of the rise is not too 
high above the spring. 

If a perfect vacuum could be kept in the 
siphon the atmosphere would lift water over a 
rise of thirty-four feet, but a perfect vacuum 
cannot be kept in the siphon because the air 
absorbed in the spring or well water escapes 
from the water, and gathers in the upper part 
of the siphon where the pressure on the water is 
slight. As soon as the top of the bend is filled 



THE SIPHON 151 

with air the siphon stops. The limit of the 
siphon in practice is about twenty-five feet. 

The siphon should be absolutely air-tight, 
particularly at the bend; for this reason it is 
usually made of stout lead pipe from the spring 
or well up over the bend and down on the other 
side as far as the level of the spring or well. 
This pipe must be stout to resist the pressure of 
the atmosphere on the outside. With a lead- 
pipe siphon and a lift of about fifteen feet, the 
siphonage is seldom lost. 

The hydrostatic paradox. The hydrostatic 
paradox is this: the pressure of water on any 
surface depends only on the area of the surface 
and the height of the water above it and not at 
all on the quantity of water above it. For ex- 
ample, if the lift bucket of a pump is raising 
water to a certain height, the lift (if we neglect 
friction) is the same with the same sized bucket 
whether the discharge pipe is 1 inch or 5 inches 
in diameter, although the quantity of water in 
the 5-inch pipe is 25 times as great as in the 1- 
inch pipe. Also if a tap is a certain distance 
below the level of the water in an elevated tank, 



152 



HOME WATERWOEKS 



the pressure at the tap is the same, whether the 
tank holds 10 or 1000 gallons, although the 
quantity of water in the latter is 100 times that 
in the former. In a compression tank also, if 
the air pressure is say 30 lbs. per square inch, 
the pressure at a tap is the same no matter 
whether the area of the water in the tank, 
against which the air is pressing, is one square 
foot or a hundred square feet. 

An illustration of the hydrostatic paradox is 
given in Fig. 58. In (1), (2) and (3) the 





2 3 

Fig. 58. The hydrostatic paradox 



base AB is the same in all, and the depth of 
water above AB is the same in all, but the 
volume of water is much greater in (1), than in 
(2), and in (2), than in (3). If the base is held 
on by weights placed on the pan of the balance, 
(not shown) it is found that the same weight 
is required in all three; that is, if a quarter- 



THE SIPHON 153 

pound weight is required to keep the water from 
running out at the base in (1), the same amount 
is required in (2) and (3), although the actual 
weights of water are very different. There- 
fore we say that the pressure water or any liquid 
exerts on a surface depends on the area of the 
surface and on the depth of water above the 
surface, but not at all on the volume of water 
above it. In (4) the same fact is illustrated. 
The water stands at the same level in all tubes 
no matter what may be their shape or volume. 

The explanation of the hydrostatic paradox 
is: pressure in water is transmitted equally 
and undiminished in all directions at the same 
level. For example, if a pressure of 10 lbs. 
per square inch is exerted on a liquid at any 
point, this will exert a pressure of 10 lbs. on 
every square inch of the liquid at the same level. 
It is this law of liquid pressure that is made use 
of in all forms of the hydraulic press, the 
hydraulic elevator, the hydraulic lift, &c. 

The kinetic theory of gases. "We learned 
in Chapter VI that the atmosphere exerts a 
pressure of 15 lbs. on every square inch of sur- 
face it touches, and one method of illustrating 



154 HOME WATERWORKS 

this was by means of the crushed syrup can, — 
when the air was removed from the can, the 
atmospheric pressure on the outside crumpled 
it up. 

Let us look into this question of air pres- 
sure a little further. When the can is full of 
air it is not crumpled up, although the atmos- 
phere is pressing on the outside; therefore the 
air in the can must exert a pressure outwards 
on the sides of the can, equal to that of the at- 
mosphere inwards. 

Let us suppose we had a syrup can in the 
shape of a cube, just one square foot on a side, 
with nothing in it but air. If we screw the cap 
on we have inside just one cubic foot or 1% 
ounces of air. The pressure of the atmosphere 
on the outside is 15 lbs. on every square inch of 
surface, and since the total surface is six square 
feet the total pressure on the outside is 6 X 144 
X 15 = 12,960 lbs. or over 6 tons. Since the 
can is not crumpled up the air inside must ex- 
ert this pressure outwards, or 1% ounces of air 
exert a pressure outwards of over 6 tons. 

This seems absolutely impossible, but never- 
theless we know it to be a fact. If it is so, the 



THE SIPHON 155 

next natural question is : Why is it so f How 
can such a trifling amount of air exert such a 
great pressure? Scientists give the following 
explanation, which goes under the rather im- 
posing name of The Kinetic Theory of Gases. 
It is : " Gases are made up of very small parti- 
cles (molecules) which are in rapid motion; 
they are kept in motion by the heat they receive 
from their surroundings; when the gas cools 
the particles move more slowly and when it is 
heated they move more rapidly." This seems 
a -rather far-fetched explanation, but it has 
been found that it explains everything about 
the behavior of gases which it could be ex- 
pected to explain, and for this reason the theory 
is believed to be true. 

How does it explain the pressure the small 
amount of air in the can exerts outwards? It 
does this as follows: there are millions of 
small air particles in every cubic inch of air; 
if they are in rapid motion they must strike 
against each other and against the inside of the 
can. Millions of these particles strike each 
square inch of the surface every second, and 
it is this bombardment that produces the pres- 



156 HOME WATERWORKS 

sure outwards. This explains why a can, full 
of air, is not crumpled up by the pressure of the 
atmosphere on the outside. If the closed can is 
heated it bulges outwards, showing that the 
pressure inside is increased. The kinetic 
theory explains this as follows : since the air in 
the can is heated the particles are moving fas- 
ter; therefore each one strikes harder, that is, 
they exert a greater pressure on the inner side 
of the can and it bulges out. Also if the closed 
can is cooled by pouring ice water on it it caves 
in, showing that the pressure inside is de- 
creased. The kinetic theory explains this as 
follows: since the air in the can is cooled, the 
particles are moving more slowly and therefore 
are striking lighter blows, therefore the pres- 
sure they exert outwards is less and the pres- 
sure of the atmosphere forces the sides of the 
can in. 

This theory also explains other facts we have 
observed above; for example, when the air in 
the air chamber of a pump is compressed to 
one-half its volume it exerts double the pressure 
on the water that it did at first. The explana- 
tion of this is that since there are twice as many 



THE SIPHON 157 

particles in every cubic inch of air, twice as 
many strike the surface of the water every sec- 
ond; that is, the air exerts twice the pressure 
on the water that it did before it was com- 
pressed. It also explains the fact that when 
air is compressed to one-third, one-quarter, etc., 
in volume, it exerts three, four, etc., times the 
pressure. 

Also if air is pumped out of anything, we 
know that the pressure inside decreases; the 
explanation is that, since there are fewer parti- 
cles in each cubic inch fewer strike each square 
inch per second, and therefore the pressure per 
square inch is less. 

We learned in the chapter on pumps that 
when any volume of air is given a greater vol- 
ume, it immediately expands to fill it. For ex- 
ample, if the bucket in a pump cylinder is 
lifted, the air below the bucket expands to 
fill the whole space. The Kinetic Theory ex- 
plains this as follows. Since the particles are 
in motion there are millions moving towards 
the bucket at any instant; when the bucket is 
lifted they simply keep on moving towards it, 
and since all the particles are moving very rap- 



158 HOME WATEEWOEKS 

idly and are striking each other many times 
a second, they are soon distributed evenly 
throughout the whole space. 

The Kinetic Theory of Gases has been tested 
in many ways. It has led to the discovery of 
new facts regarding gases, and has furnished 
an explanation of all the facts it could be ex- 
pected to explain, and for these reasons it is 
believed to be the true explanation of the pres- 
sure exerted by air and other gases. 



CHAPTER Xn 
METHODS OF PUMPING 

HAND POWEE, HOESE POWEB AND WINDMILLS 

Hand power and horse power. If any con- 
siderable quantity of water is needed per day, 
the most expensive method of pumping it is by 
hand. A man can pump about 500 gallons of 
water an hour when the lift is 25 feet, and half 
this quantity when the lift is 50 feet. If we 
reckon a man's wages and board at $1.50 a day, 
the cost of pumping the 500 gallons amounts to 
15 cents each day or over $50 a year. This is 
a pretty high water tax. Hand pumping is not 
only the most expensive method of obtaining a 
large supply of water, it is also the most 
arduous method. Anyone who has tried pump- 
ing water for an hour a day, every day of the 
year, will agree that it is hard, brutal work, and 
that it is work which should be done by some 
form of animal or mechanical power. 

159 



160 HOME WATERWORKS 

If a sweep or tread power is connected to a 
pump by means of a pump jack, water may be 
pumped by horse power. This is an improve- 
ment in comfort on hand pumping, and is also 
cheaper. A horse can pump about 4,000 gallons 
of water per hour on a lift of 25 feet, and if 
we take the cost of food and attendance for the 
horse at 35 cents a day, the cost of pumping the 
4,000 gallons amounts to 3V 2 cents plus the cost 
of the man or boy attending the horse. This 
method of pumping is in common use, but it 
is not so cheap nor so convenient as other forms 
of power pumping, such as the windmill, hy- 
draulic ram, gasoline engine, etc. 

Windmills. One of the cheapest methods of 
pumping water is by means of a windmill (Fig. 
59). There is no expense for fuel, and the only 
outlay is for oil and a small amount for at- 
tendance. The windmill is best suited to work 
which may be done intermittently and which 
requires only a small amount of power. The 
12 and 16 foot power mills are used for such 
work as grinding grain, sawing wood, etc., but 
those in most common use are the 6 and 8 foot 
mills for pumping water. 



METHODS OF PUMPING 



161 




162 HOME WATERWORKS 

The wind wheel. The windmill wheel is 
made of radial sails set at an angle to the plane 
of the wheel's motion. The wind strikes these 
sails and drives them sidewavs; this causes the 
wheel to revolve, and the rotary motion is 
turned into a reciprocating or up-and-down 
motion, by means of a crank, pitman and rocker 
arm at the other end of the axis of the wheel. 

The pitman is 
attached to the 




sa,J/ D d1RE c TI o N ->1 ^Lc TI0N P um P Plunger. 
U-^^t ^-f ™»™* The pitman 

\arge angle small angle 

(i) (2) gives the plung- 

Fig. 60. Speed of windmill. gj» qj± UD-and- 

down motion which pumps water, and thus the 
windmill turns the energy of the wind into use- 
ful work. The speed of the wheel depends on 
the angle of the sails to the plane of the wheel ; 
if the angle is great the speed is slow, if the 
angle is small the speed is great. The reason 
for this is shown in Fig. 60. In (1) the angle 
of the sail to the plane of the wheel 's motion is 
large, and while the wind moves from A to B 
the wheel moves only from A to D; therefore 



METHODS OF PUMPING 163 

the wheel revolves slowly. In (2) the angle of 
the sail to the plane of the wheel is small and 
while the wind moves from A to B the wheel 
moves from A to D; therefore the wheel re- 
volves rapidly. It will be noticed that in (2) 
the wheel travels much farther than it does in 
(1) although the wind travels the same distance 
in each case. That is, with the sails at a small 
angle as in (2) the speed of the wheel is greater 
than when the sails are at a large angle as in 

(i). 

Wooden windmills are made with long nar- 
row, wooden sails set at a large angle to the 
plane of the wheel, and therefore wooden 
wheels are slow-moving wheels. In mills of 
this class the pitman ' is usually connected di- 
rectly to the crank on the end of the wheel axle, 
and therefore the pump piston makes one com- 
plete stroke for every revolution of the wheel. 
Steel windmills are made with broad curved 
sails of sheet steel, set at a small angle to the 
direction of the wheel's motion. They are 
therefore much faster than the wooden wind- 
mills, and when used for pumping, the wheel is 



164 HOME WATERWORKS 

usually back-geared, so that it makes three or 
four revolutions for one complete stroke of the 
pump piston. 

Power of the windmill. The pressure that 
the wind exerts on a square foot of surface 
varies as the square of the velocity of the wind. 
That is, if the velocity of the wind is doubled, 
the pressure it exerts on every square foot is 
four times as great. If the velocity is trebled, 
the pressure is nine times as great, etc. The 
pressure of the wind per square foot, according 
to experiments made at the Eiffel Tower, is 
expressed by the formula: P = .003V 2 , where 
"P" is the pressure of the wind in lbs. per 
square foot and "V" is the velocity in miles 
per hour. For example, if the velocity is one 
mile an hour the pressure is equal to .003 
pounds per square foot. If the velocity is 
twenty miles per hour the pressure is P = .003 
X 400 = 1.2 pounds per square foot, etc. 

The pressure of the wind also depends on 
the weight of the air per cubic foot, and for 
this reason a wind with a certain velocity 
exerts a greater pressure in winter than it 
does in summer, because in winter the air is 



METHODS OF PUMPING 165 

colder and therefore denser, that is, it weighs 
more per cubic foot, and therefore, at the same 
velocity, a greater weight of air strikes the 
mill each minute in winter than in summer. 
This accounts for the well-known fact that a 
windmill does better work in winter than in 
summer, with the wind at the same velocity. 

The power of the windmill is the amount of 
work it can do in a certain time. It depends 
not only on the pressure of the wind but also 
on the amount of air that passes through the 
wheel in a certain time. Therefore the power 
of the windmill varies as the cube of the 
velocity of the wind. For example, if a mill 
does a certain amount of work per hour in a 
ten-mile wind, it will do eight times that 
amount of work if the velocity of the wind is 
twice as great, or twenty miles per hour. The 
reason for this is as follows. Since the power 
of the windmill depends on the pressure of 
the wind and also upon the amount of wind 
which passes through the wheel, when the 
velocity is doubled the pressure is four times 
as great, and at the same* time the amount of 
wind which passes through the wheel in a given 



166 HOME WATERWORKS 

time is twice as great. Therefore the power or 
work done, is four times two, or eight times 
as much. That is, the power of a windmill 
varies as the cube of the velocity of the wind. 
This explains why the work done by a windmill 
increases so rapidly as the velocity of the wind 
rises. 

Windmill governor. For the protection of 
windmills from damage by high winds, they are 
made self-governing. This is accomplished as 
follows. The wheel is kept facing the wind by 
a vane or tail placed at right angles to the plane 
of the wheel. The wheel is set a little to one 
side of the windmill head, so that when the wind 
is blowing, the wheel tends to swing around 
parallel to the tail. It is held in place by 
a governor, which is usually a spring or 
weighted lever so adjusted that when the wind 
reaches a dangerous velocity the wheel is al- 
lowed to swing parallel to the tail, and thus 
only the edge of the wheel is exposed to the 
force of the wind. When the wind decreases 
in velocity the governor swings the wheel back 
into the wind again. The governor can be set 



METHODS OF PUMPING 167 

for a wind of any velocity by adjusting the 
spring screw or lever weight. 

Regulators. Various forms of regulators 
are used to stop the windmill when the tank 
is full and to allow it to start again when the 
water level has fallen to a certain point. In 
all forms of regulators, a wire is run from the 
governor to the regulator through the wind- 
mill head. The wire is attached to the gover- 
nor in such a manner that when it is pulled 
down the wheel is pulled around parallel to the 
tail and stops working. When the wire is 
released, the governor swings the wheel into 
the wind again. The regulators differ only 
in the manner in which this wire is pulled 
down and released. One form is a hand reef- 
ing-gear. The wire is wound up on a drum 
by means of a crank arm and toothe'd gear. 
This pulls the wire down and throws the wheel 
out of the wind; when the wire is allowed to 
unwind, the governor swings the wheel into the 
wind again. 

The best kind of regulator is one which is 
automatic in its action; it automatically stops 



168 



HOME WATERWORKS 



the windmill when the tank is full, and allows it 
to run again when the water level falls to a cer- 
tain point. The majority of automatic regula- 
tors are worked by means of a wooden float 
placed in the tank, and connected to the regula- 
tor by means of wire and one or more rocker 

arms. This connection 
shown in Fig. 61. 
The regulator is 
connected to the 
pump rod by 
means of an arm 
which moves up 
and down with 
the rod all the 
time the wind- 
Fig. 61. Windmill regulator. mill is running*. 

The wire from the governor is attached to the 
vertical notched bar as in Figs. 61 and 63 or 
to a notched wheel as in Fig. 62. When the 
water in the tank reaches a certain height, the 
float releases a dog which throws the regu- 
lator into gear. The motion of the arm at- 
tached to the pump rod pulls down the notched 
bar or turns the notched wheel, and these in 




METHODS OF PUMPING 



169 



turn pull down the wire attached to the gov- 
ernor. This draws the wheel out of the wind, 
and the pumping stops. When the water level 
is lowered five or six inches the float lifts the 




Fig. 62. Windmill regulator. 

dog and releases the notched bar and wire. 
The governor then lifts bar and wire, throws 
the wheel into the wind, and the pumping begins 
again. 

The automatic regulators 
shown in Figs. 61 to 65 
are all worked by an arm 
attached to the pump 
rod, and are thrown 
in and out of gear 
by means of a float in 
the tank. They work 
equally well whether 

x ^ Fig. 63. Windmill regulator. 




170 



HOME WATERWORKS 



the tank is on the ground or in an elevated po- 
sition. 

A regulator of a different type is illustrated 
in Fig. 66. The float valve, Fig. 67, is placed in 
the tank on the top of the supply pipe, and when 
the water in the tank reaches a certain height 




Fig. 64. Windmill regulator. 



Fig. 65. Windmill regulator. 



the valve closes the top of the supply pipe. As 
the windmill continues to pump, it forces water 
into the hydraulic cylinder, shown in Fig. 66. 
The water forces the cylinder down and the wire 
which is attached to the cylinder is drawn down 
and pulls the wheel out of the wind. When the 
level of the water in the tank falls to a certain 
point, the float valve opens and releases the 
pressure on the hydraulic cylinder. The wheel 



METHODS OF PUMPING 



171 



governor then lifts the wire and cylinder and 
swings the wheel into the wind again. The 
complete regulator is shown in Fig. 72 below. 

Towers. The windmill is placed on a tower 
to elevate it above any trees or buildings which 
might obstruct the wind. The general rule is 

to place the bottom of the 
wheel ten feet above any ob- 
struction within six hundred 
feet of the mill. One method 
of doing this is to place the 
mill on the roof of the barn 
or stable. If the roof is 




QAFCTIl 

Fig. 66. Hydraulic cyl- 
inder. 




Fig. 67. Float valve. 



strong enough, the tower is fastened to it. To 
do this, a squared timber is sawed length- 
wise, the slant of the cut being the same 
as the slant of the roof; this timber should be 
long enough to take in five or six roof beams. 
The spread of the base of the tower is then 



172 HOME WATERWORKS 

measured and each half timber is placed in the 
correct position on each side of the peak of the 
roof ; then each is bolted to a four by four tim- 
ber on the under side of the roof beams. This 
makes a good foundation; but if greater secur- 
ity is desired, the tower may be braced from the 
hayloft floor, by four by four timbers and by 
three-quarter inch rods bolted under the floor 
beams and above the timber on the under side 
of the roof, one timber and one rod being placed 
under each corner of the tower. In some cases 
the tower is brought down to the hayloft floor 
and fastened to it. The foundation then may 
consist of two pairs of four by four timbers; 
one timber of each pair being laid across the 
beams above the floor, the other below, and the 
two bolted securely together. 

Towers were formerly made of wood, but 
good timber is scarce and costly, and as a re- 
sult modern towers are made of galvanized 
steel. The chief points to be secured in a tower 
are strength and good anchorage. The advice 
of the manufacturers should be secured on these 
points, as they are careful to design each tower 
for the circumstances and service required. If 



METHODS OF PUMPING 



173 



the tower is placed on the ground, the anchor 
posts are set in five or six feet and a cross- 
piece or anchor plate is fastened to the bottom 
of each, to prevent its being shoved into the 
ground or pulled out. To make sure that the 
posts will not be shoved into the ground, it is 
necessary to have a good founda- 
tion ; this may be secured by plac- 
ing flat stones or planks under 
each cross-piece or anchor plate. 
To make sure that the posts will 
not be pulled out, the cross-pieces 
should be loaded with heavy boul- 
ders ; a good way to do this is to 
place timbers across each cross- 
piece and load the timbers with 
boulders. If towers buckle at all, 
they usually buckle in at the 
point the post leaves the ground ; 
to brace this point a large boulder, or a stout 
timber five or six feet long, should be placed 
against each post on the inside, just beneath 
the surface, and backed with well tamped 
earth. If the tower is to hold a tank, each post 
should be imbedded in a concrete pier and a 




Fig. 68. 



174 HOME WATERWORKS 

flat iron plate should be fastened securely to 
each post at the bottom of the pier and another 
at the top of the pier. . . 

In order that the wheel may be examined and 
oiled, a ladder is placed on one side of the tower 
and a platform at the top. The tower and 
wheel should be examined from time to time to 
see that all nuts are tight. 

Windmill and trough. In many cases a 
windmill is placed in a pasture to supply 
water to the stock, by pumping into a trough. 
In such cases the overflow pipe should carry 
the water a good distance from the trough, 
to avoid a mud puddle from which the water 
may soak back into the well; or a float valve 
and regulator, such as that shown in Figs. 66 
and 67, may be used to stop the windmill when 
the tank is full and allow it to run again when 
the water level falls to a certain point. It is 
a bad practice to let the water run back into 
the well from the trough, because it is open to 
contamination of all kinds while in the trough. 

Windmill and storage tank. The windmill 
is more generally used to pump water into an 
elevated tank or into a pneumatic tank. When 



METHODS OF PUMPING 



175 



used in connection with an elevated tank, the 
tank is placed on a tower, in the hayloft, in the 
attic of the house, or on elevated ground. 
Fig. 69 shows the tank on the windmill tower. 
This arrangement is commonly used for summer 
homes where the water is not used in winter 
time, and in the southern part 
of the country where there is no 
danger of the water's freezing. 
It has the disadvantage, how- 
ever, that the water becomes 
warm in summer. 

In the northern part of the 
country the tank is usually 
placed in the loft over the stable 
or in the attic of the house. In 
one arrangement of this kind a 
closed steel tank of about thirty 
gallons capacity is placed in the Fig - 69 - 
house, and all the water is pumped through this 
tank, to a large storage tank in the hayloft above 
the stables. By this means the water in the 
house tank, from which the house supply is 
piped, is always the fresh water. 

With the elevated tank in the stable loft the 




176 HOME WATERWORKS 

windmill is usually placed above the peak of 
the roof. The pump is placed in the stable 
below, with a suction pipe running to the well, 
river or lake outside. With this arrangement 
the pump is easy to get at in winter and there 
is no danger of its freezing. If the water in 
the well, river or lake is below suction distance, 
a dry well may be made beneath the stable floor 
deep enough to bring the cylinder within suc- 
tion distance of the water. If this is not feas- 
ible, the pump and windmill must be placed out- 
side over the well or near the river or lake. 
If placed over the well, the pump cylinder is 
usually lowered into the water; if placed near 
the river or lake, the pump is placed in a dry 
well to protect it from frost. The suction pipe 
and the supply pipe to the tank are placed about 

four feet underground 
for the same reason. In 
some cases the windmill 
is used to work a pump 
Fig. 70. Quadrants. |s* ^^ distance away by 

means of the windmill quadrants shown in 

Fig. 70. 

The proper plumbing between the pump and 




METHODS OF PUMPING 



177 



elevated tank is shown in Fig. 71. 
The 'air chamber relieves the pump 
from sudden strains ; the check valve 
holds the water when it is pumped; 
the union and gate valves allow re- 
pairs to be made in the piping to the 
pump without emptying the tank ; the 
supply pipe also acts as part of the 
discharge pipe. The method of con- 
necting it to the bottom of the tank 
with lock nuts is also shown. This 
pipe might also be passed over the 
edge of the tank and down to within 
an inch or two of the bottom. With 
this arrangement it is not necessary 
to make a hole in the bottom of the 
tank, for the water drawn 
off through the discharge 
pipe siphons back over 
the edge of the tank. 

The windmill and pneu- 
matic tank. The arrange- 



«£ 




Fig. 71. Piping from pump 



ment of the windmill in to" tank. 

connection with a pneumatic tank is shown in 
Fig. 72. The windmill is fitted with a hydraulic 



178 



HOME WATERWORKS 



cylinder connected to an automatic regulator. 
This stops the windmill when the pressure in 
the tank reaches a certain point, and allows- it to 




Fig. 72. Windmill operating a pneumatic tank. 

run again when the pressure is reduced to a 
certain point. In addition the upper pump 
cylinder Gr is what is called a hydro-pneu- 
matic cylinder. It is so arranged that by ad- 



METHODS OF PUMPING 179 

justing the handle shown just above the plat- 
form, either water or water and air is pumped 
into the pneumatic tank. 

The pneumatic tank "i" may be placed in the 
ground as shown, or in the stable or cellar. It 
must be protected from frost. The water is 
pumped in at the bottom, and the compressed 
air is confined in the top of the tank. The com- 
pressed air forces the water to the house or 
stables through the discharge pipes E and 
D ; the pressure gauge A registers the air pres- 
sure, and the water glass B shows the propor- 
tion of air and water in the tank. The hydrant 
F is used for a hose connection for watering the 
lawn, etc, Whether an elevated or pneumatic 
tank is used it should be large enough to hold 
at least three days ' supply to allow for the time 
when the wind is not blowing. 

Care of the windmill. It is not sufficient to 
buy a windmill and start it pumping. It must 
be cared for. If it is allowed to run without 
oil, and if the bolts and nuts are allowed to 
loosen, it will wear out in a short time. If the 
mill is used all day it should be oiled every day. 
If only for a few hours a day, once a week is 



180 HOME WATERWORKS 

sufficient. If the mill is self oiling, it needs 
fresh oil only about once in three weeks. Every 
time the windmill is oiled, a wrench should be 
carried along to tighten any nuts that need it. 

Prices. As in the case of all other water- 
supply equipment, the prices of windmills vary 
according to their size and quality. Windmills 
are advertised at the following prices: 4- 
foot steel $13 ; 6-foot steel $14 ; 8-foot steel $18 ; 
10-foot steel $25; 8-foot wooden $18; 10-foot 
wooden $25 ; Towers, 40 feet high, 4 post, suit- 
able for 8-foot mills, No. 1, weight 630 lbs., $27; 
No. 2, 700 lbs., $31; No. 3, 900 lbs. $43; wind- 
mill force-pumps from $7 up. 

The windmill is an excellent servant; it re- 
quires no outlay for food or wages, and if given 
plenty of oil, and a little intelligent care, it will 
last many years and will do many dollars ' worth 
of work each year. 



CHAPTER XIII 
METHODS OF PUMPING 

THE HYDKAULIC EAM 

Every foot-pound of work obtained from 
running water and from wind is clear gain. 
When coal, wood or oil is burned to drive an 
engine the work is done, but the fuel is gone 
forever. The work done is a gain, but against 
this must be placed so much fuel which cannot 
be used again. The work done by running 
water and by wind, however, is all gain, since 
the work done is a gain and the energy used 
would otherwise be wasted. 

The hydraulic ram (Fig. 73) is one method of 
utilizing the energy of running water to pump 
water from a spring or brook into an elevated 
tank or into a pneumatic tank. It can be used 
where the running water has a fall of at least 
eighteen inches, although a fall of from three 
to ten feet gives better service. It will lift 

181 



182 



HOME WATERWORKS 




13 



6J3 



METHODS OF PUMPING 



183 



water from six to thirty feet for every foot of 
fall, according to the size and style of the ram ; 
for example, if the fall from the brook to the 
ram is three feet, the ram will lift water from 
eighteen to ninety feet according to the size and 
style of ram. 




Fig. 74. Sectional view of Gould's standard ram. 



How the ram works. The operation of the 
ram (Fig. 74) is as follows. The water from 
the brook or spring flows down the drive pipe 
G and out at the working valve F, as shown in 
Fig. 74. The rate of flow of the water rapidly 
increases and when it reaches a certain velocity 
the valve F is suddenly closed by the force 
of the water. The momentum of the water in 



184 HOME WATEEWOEKS 

the drive pipe forces up the valve E and 
drives part of the water into the air chamber. 
The air in the chamber is compressed and thus 
exerts a back pressure on the water, which 
brings it to rest and starts it moving back up 
the drive pipe. This reaction or backward 
movement of the water closes the valve E 
and allows the valve F to open of its own 
weight. The water starts flowing down the 
drive pipe again, the valve F closes, and 
more water is forced into the air chamber, etc. 
This operation is repeated from twenty to two 
hundred times a minute according to the ratio 
of the fall to the height the water is pumped. 
The compressed air in the chamber forces 
water through the discharge pipe to the ele- 
vated tank, and from there the water flows to 
the house and stables by gravity. 

At the base of the ram, just to the right of 
the flange of the drive pipe, is shown a small 
air valve C, called a sniffling valve. It serves 
to keep up the supply of air in the air cham- 
ber. Air is absorbed by water, and in time 
all the air in the chamber would be absorbed, 
and the chamber would become water-logged, 



METHODS OF PUMPING 185 

if a fresh supply were not admitted. The 
sniffling valve admits this fresh supply of 
air as follows: on the reaction or backward 
movement of the water a partial vacuum is 
created in the base of the ram B, and as a 
result, the pressure of the atmosphere forces 
a little air in through the sniffling valve; on 
the next forward rush of water, this air is car- 
ried into the air chamber. 

In general the ram uses the energy of run- 
ning water to force part of it to a higher level. 
If there were no loss of energy from friction in 
the pipes and valves, the fraction of the water 
raised would be the ratio of the fall to the lift ; 
for example, if the fall were three feet and the 
lift thirty feet, three-thirtieths or one-tenth of 
the water would be lifted. There is loss of 
energy in friction, however, and only about one- 
fourteenth of the water is lifted when the ratio 
is one to ten; if the ratio is one to five, only 
one-seventh is lifted and similarly for other 
ratios, the amount lifted being always some- 
what smaller than the theoretical amount. 

In Fig. 75 is shown a sectional view of the 
Niagara hydraulic engine, a very efficient ram. 



186 



HOME WATERWORKS 



The water enters through the drive pipe A and 
flows out through the working valve 13. At a 
certain velocity the force of the water closes the 
valve 13 and the momentum of the water in the 
drive pipe drives a part of the water into the 

a 




Fig. 75. Sectional view of Niagara hydraulic engine. 

air chamber Gr. The compressed air in this 
chamber stops the rush of water and starts the 
reaction; this closes the valve E and allows the 
valve 13 to open again; also on the reaction a 
little air is forced in through the sniffling valve 
F by the pressure of the atmosphere. The com- 



METHODS OF PUMPING 187 

pressed air in G keeps a steady flow of water 
moving through the discharge pipe C. The up- 
per drawing gives a better view of the sniffling 
valve. 

The rate of flow of water is regulated by 
the set nuts H at the top of the stem of the 
working valve. If more water is wanted, the 
nuts are unscrewed so that the valve has a 
longer motion and works more slowly. The 
water in the drive pipe then acquires a greater 
velocity before the valve closes, and therefore 
it has a greater momentum. As a result, more 
water is forced into the air chamber at each 
ramming motion; the air is compressed to a 
smaller volume, and therefore exerts a greater 
force and drives more water up through the 
delivery pipe. 

If less water is wanted, the nuts are screwed 
down so that the valve works more rapidly on a 
shorter motion. The valve closes when the ve- 
locity of the water in the drive pipe is small; 
therefore the momentum of the water is small 
and less water is forced into the air chamber. 
The air in the chamber is not compressed so 
much and therefore a smaller quantity of water 



188 



HOME WATEBWOBKS 



is forced through the discharge pipe in the same 
time. 

The double acting ram. Rams are made to 
force water from a spring into an elevated 
tank by means of the power of a neighboring 
river or brook, the water of which may not be 




^ — spring ill eJ :h? 

J , rar «ebff£o=3§l 



*£Sft» 



Cress 



Fig. 76. Double-acting ram. 



fit to drink. Fig. 76 is a sectional cut of the 
Niagara double-acting hydraulic engine. It is 
the same as the single-acting ram except that a 
supply pipe S from the spring is arranged to 
deliver water just below the valve E. The ac- 
tion of the ram is also the same as that of the 
single-acting ram, except that on the reaction 
the water enters the ram from the spring and 



METHODS OF PUMPING 



189 



fills the base T. On the next ramming motion 
of the water from the brook, the spring water 
is forced into the air chamber and out through 
the delivery pipe C. The ram is so adjusted 
that there is an excess of spring water and some 
of it flows out through the working valve D. 
This is brought about by the stand pipe on the 
pipe from the spring. It is made high enough 
to give a rapid flow of spring water on the re- 
action. This excess of spring water prevents 
the river water from 
entering the air 
chamber and deliv- 
ery pipe. The check 
valve on the spring- 
water pipe prevents 
the spring water 
from being driven 
back up the pipe by 

the ramming motion 
of the water in the 

drive pipe. 

The equipment. 
The drive pipe is made as straight as possi- 
ble, to allow the water a free flow. Where a 




Fig. 77. A standard ram. 



190 HOME WATERWORKS 

bend must be made, as at the point it enters 
the ram, the whole pipe is bent in a long curve. 
The length of the drive pipe is important, and 
the manufacturers prefer to give information 
on this point for each installation. For the 
standard ram, however, the length is usually 
the same length as the lift. The end of the 
drive pipe in the spring or brook is protected 
by a strainer to keep out anything which might 
obstruct the valves. The -area of waterway in 
the strainer should be two and one-half times 
the area of the pipe. 

The ram is usually placed in a pit from which 
a large drain carries the excess water to a 
lower level. If the pipes are laid under ground 
and the ram is covered in winter, there is no 
trouble from frost, particularly when the ram 
is allowed to run continuously. The delivery 
pipe is laid with as few bends as possible to 
avoid friction, but this is not so important in 
the delivery pipe as in the case of the drive 
pipe. The elevated tank should be provided 
with a well arranged overflow pipe, as the ram 
keeps it full to overflowing the greater part of 
the time. 



METHODS OF PUMPING 191 

A satisfactory engine. Next to a natural 
gravity supply, the ram is the cheapest and 
most satisfactory means of obtaining running 
water. When once adjusted, it works away day 
and night, week in and week out, without at- 
tention, and after the first cost, which is not 
great, the only expense is for valves. These 
must be renewed every year or two according 
to the service. 

The cost of the hydraulic ram outfit may be 
estimated from the following. Rams are ad- 
vertised from $5 up according to size and 
quality. A No. 4 standard ram such as those 
shown in Figs. 73, 74, 77, above, is a reliable 
engine, and provides an ample supply of water 
for a large farm; it costs $14. The drive pipe 
is 1% inches galvanized iron pipe at ten cents 
per foot; the delivery pipe is % inch galvan- 
ized iron pipe at 5 cents per foot ; round wooden 
tanks of 500 gallons capacity cost from $12 up, 
1,000 gallons from $20 up. A No. 4 standard 
ram requires a flow of from 3 to 7 gallons a 
minute from the brook or spring. It will pump 
from 15 to 35 gallons per hour. It raises this 
amount 20 feet when the fall is 3 feet, 70 feet 



192 HOME WATEEWOEKS 

when the fall is 10 feet, and 120 feet when the 
fall is 17 feet. 

In purchasing water-supply materials of any 
kind, it is well to remember that a cheap outfit 
is not necessarily an inexpensive one. It is bet- 
ter to pay a little more for a first-class outfit 
that will last a lifetime. 



CHAPTER XIV 
METHODS OF PUMPING 



THE HOT-AIR ENGINE 



The hot-air engine is used almost exclusively 
for pumping water. The source of energy is 
the heat of combustion of some form of fuel. 
The energy is transferred 
to the power piston by 
means of air which is al- 
ternately heated and cooled, 
the same air being used 
over and over again. It 
pumps water from deep or 
shallow wells and is used 
in connection with either 
an elevated storage tank 
or a pneumatic tank. The 
pump or pump head is attached to the body of 
the engine. Fig. 78 shows one form of the 
Ericsson hot-air engine, the Denney, arranged 

193 




Fig. 78. 



Ericsson hot-air 
engine. 



194 



HOME WATERWORKS 



for pumping water, from a shallow well or cis- 
tern. In Fig. 79 a sectional view of the same 
engine is shown. 




Fig. 79. Sectional view of Ericsson hot-air engine. 

How the Ericsson hot air engine works. 
In the Ericsson engine there is a single cyl- 



METHODS OF PUMPING 195 

inder, the lower end of which is heated and the 
upper end cooled. The air is alternately 
transferred from one end of the cylinder to 
the other. When at the hot end it expands 
and forces up the power piston; when at the 
cold end it cools and contracts and allows the 
fly wheel to drive the power piston down again. 
In Fig. 79 the lower half of the cylinder 
8 is in the furnace where it is heated, the 
upper half is surrounded by the water jacket 
10 which keeps it cool. All the water pumped 
passes through this water jacket and serves 
as a cooling agent. Inside the cylinder are 
two pistons, the power piston 7 and the 
transfer piston 6. The power piston fits the 
cylinder so closely that no air escapes. The 
transfer piston, however, fits the cylinder 
loosely, and as it moves up and down the air 
passes between it and the cylinder readily. In 
doing so the air is alternately brought in close 
contact with the heating surface below and 
with the cooling surface above, and thus is 
alternately heated and cooled. The pistons 
are connected to the fly wheel 9 in such a 
manner that the transfer piston is always one 



196 HOME WATERWORKS 

half stroke ahead of the power piston. They 
move in the same direction one half the time 
and in the opposite direction the other half. 

In Fig. 79 the power piston 7 has made 
about one half of its up stroke and the trans- 
fer piston 6 has nearly completed its full 
up stroke. The air has been forced down by 
the transfer piston to the lower end of the 
cylinder where it is being heated; it is expand- 
ing and is forcing up the power piston. While 
the power piston makes the latter half of its up 
stroke, the transfer piston makes the first half 
of its down stroke, and one half of the air is 
forced to the upper half of the cylinder where 
it is cooled. This decreases the air pressure 
in the cylinder and the fly wheel is able to start 
the power piston on its down stroke. When the 
power piston has made one half of its down 
stroke, the transfer piston has made its full 
down stroke, and all the air is in the upper part 
of the cylinder being cooled. This decreases the 
pressure still further and enables the fly wheel 
to force the power piston to the end of its down 
stroke. By the time the power piston finishes 
its down stroke, the transfer piston has made 



METHODS OF PUMPING 197 

one half its up stroke, and half of the air is in 
the lower end of the cylinder being heated 
again. It expands and forces the power piston 
up. By the time the power piston has made 
half its up stroke, the transfer piston has 
finished its up stroke, and all the air is in the 
lower end being heated. All the air is at this 
instant expanding and is forcing up the power 
piston, etc., etc. This operation is repeated 
over and over again as long as there is sufficient 
heat in the furnace. 

The pump or pump head is attached to the 
body of the engine. The lift bucket 1 is oper- 
ated by the walking beam, which in turn is 
driven by the power piston. The water passes 
up from the supply pipe through the suction 
valve 3 and the check valve 2. It then flows 
around the water jacket and out through the 
discharge pipe. There are two air chambers, 
one, 4, on the supply pipe and the other, 5, on the 
discharge pipe. They serve to moderate the 
strain on the engine and pump. 

The Rider hot air engine. The Rider en- 
gine works on the same principle as the Erics- 
son, but has two cylinders instead of one. 



198 HOME WATEEWOEKS 

The air is alternately transferred from one 
to the other, being heated in one and cooled 
in the other. One form of this engine, the 
Denney, is shown in Figs. 80 and 81. In Fig. 
81 the power piston 2 works in the hot cylinder 
5, the lower end of which projects into the 
furnace. The transfer or compression piston 

3 moves in the second cyl- 
inder, which is kept cool 
by the water jacket 7. 
Both pistons fit their cyl- 
inders so closely at the top 
that no air escapes. The 
pistons are attached to the 
fly wheel 1 in such a man- 
ner that the compression 

Fig. 80. Rider hot-air engine. piston ^ always a half 

stroke behind the power piston. The air is 
transferred from the hot to the cold piston and 
back again through the chamber 4, called the 
regenerator, which is filled with thin metal plates 
one-eighth of an inch apart. It is called the 
regenerator because, as the hot air passes be- 
tween the thin metal plates, it gives up part of 
its heat to them, and as the cool air comes back 




METHODS OF PUMPING 
i 



199 



8' 




Fig. 81. Sectional view of Rider hot-air engine. 



200 HOME WATERWORKS 

between the plates it takes up some of the heat 
again. A better name would be ' ' economiser, ' ' 
as it economises heat. 

How the Rider engine works. In Fig. 81 
the power piston 2 and the compression pis- 
ton 3 are both being forced up by the air 
which is being heated in 5. The power pis- 
ton is near the top of its up stroke and the 
transfer piston has made about half of its up 
stroke. Part of the air is over in the cold 
cylinder being cooled. This decreases the pres- 
sure and allows the fly wheel to start the power 
piston on its down stroke. While the power 
piston is making the first half of its down 
stroke, the compression piston finishes its up 
stroke, and at this point the greater part of the 
air is in the cold cylinder and the air pressure 
is at its lowest. While the fly wheel is forcing 
the power piston through the latter half of its 
down stroke, the compression piston makes the 
first half of its down stroke, and the air is com- 
pressed in both cylinders. 

The instant the power piston starts on its 
up stroke, the compressed air from the cold 
cylinder moves through 4 into the hot cylinder 



METHODS OF PUMPING 201 

5, and as it is heated it expands and forces 
np the power piston. All the time the power 
piston is making the first half of its up stroke, 
the compression piston is moving down and is 
forcing air over into the hot cylinder, where it 
is rapidly heated and adds to the upward pres- 
sure on the power piston. While the power 
piston is making the latter half of its up 
stroke the compression piston is also moving 
up. Air passes over into the cool cylinder and 
the pressure decreases so that the fly wheel 
is able to start the power piston on its down 
stroke, helped by the fact that while the power 
piston is making the first half of its down stroke 
the compression piston is still moving up and 
the air exerts an upward pressure on it. These 
operations are repeated over and over again as 
long as there is sufficient fire in the furnace. 

The action of the pump is the same as in 
the Ericsson engine. All the water passes 
through the cooling chamber 7. There is an 
air chamber on the suction pipe and another on 
the discharge pipe, neither of which are shown 
in the figure. 

To start the hot air engine a fire is lighted 



202 HOME WATEBWOBKS 

in the furnace, and when the bottom of the 
cylinder has been heated red hot — a cherry red 
— the fly wheel is given a turn or two by hand. 
The engine will then continue pumping until the 
fire dies down. The light of the fire makes it 
difficult to tell when the heater pot is cherry red ; 
but if a black shovel is placed between the fire 
and the pot, the color is easily seen. While the 
pot is being heated, the air-cock should be left 
open to allow any oil or water, which may have 
accumulated in the pot, to pass out in the form 
of vapor. If the oil is not expelled, it car- 
bonizes and forms a soot which clogs the pis- 
tons. If the water is not expelled, the steam 
formed might blow out the power piston. Be- 
fore the engine is started, the fly wheel should 
be given two or three turns by hand while the 
air-cock is open; the pistons, moving up and 
down, then force out the last of the oil and 
water vapors and draw in fresh air. The en- 
gine and pump should be kept well oiled; but 
care should be taken not to put too much oil on 
the pistons ; they should be kept just moist and 
the oiling should be done with a rag on a stick, 



METHODS OF PUMPING 203 

or with a small varnish brush. It should not 
be done with the oil can. 

The Eider and Ericsson engines have been on 
the market many years and have given excel- 
lent satisfaction as pumping engines. They 
may be adapted to any kind of fuel and use 
very little of it. They are practically noise- 
less and they do not require skilled attendance. 

The cost. The cost of a hot-air engine equip- 
ment may be judged from the following. The 
price of the Ericsson engine with a six-and- 
one-half-inch cylinder is $130. It has a pump- 
ing capacity of from 150 to 300 gallons per 
hour according to the height the water is 
pumped. The Eider engine, with, power cyl- 
inder six inches in diameter, costs $240, and 
has a pumping capacity of from 500 to 1,000 
gallons per hour according to the height. 
These prices include engine and deep or shal- 
low well pump ; to get the total cost of the sys- 
tem it is necessary to add the cost of the ele- 
vated or pneumatic tank, according to which 
system is used. 



CHAPTER XV 
METHODS OF PUMPING 

THE GASOLINE ENGINE AND STEAM ENGINE 

On thousands of farms the gasoline engine 
is doing work that was formerly done by hand. 
There are many reasons for this change: 
first, farm help is hard to get and the out- 
lay in wages is high; second, the gasoline en- 
gine has reached such a state of perfection that 
it is thoroughly reliable; third, it is cheaper 
to do work with an engine than to do it by hand 
labor. 

This last point is the chief reason for the 
general use of the gasoline engine in farm work. 
It is cheaper to have an engine do the work 
than to do it by hand. A short calculation 
will demonstrate this point as follows: — A 
gasoline engine uses about 1 pint of gasoline 
per horse power per hour. With gasoline at 

204 



METHODS OF PUMPING 205 

16 cents a gallon the " horse power hour" of 
work is done at a cost of 2 cents. 

An average man, working steadily all day, 
works at a rate of about % horse power. At 
this rate it takes him eight hours to do one 
1 1 horse power hour" of work. If we take his 
wages at the low rate of $1.00 a day, it costs 
80 cents to get the one " horse power hour" 
of work done by hand. This is very high 
when compared to 2 cents, the cost of one 

1 'horse power hour" of work when done by 
a gasoline engine. Of course, to the cost of 
the gasoline there must be added something 
for oil, and also a certain amount as interest 
on the cost of the engine and a certain per- 
centage for depreciation, but with all these ad- 
ded, it is very much cheaper to do the work 
with an engine. There are many tasks on the 
farm and elsewhere that an engine cannot do, 
but when an engine can do the work, it should 
be made to do it. If a pint of gasoline costing 

2 cents can do the work it takes a man eight 
hours to do, the gasoline should be made to do it. 

Some of the many tasks a gasoline engine 
may be made to do are shown in Figs. 82 and 



206 



HOME WATEBWOBKS 



83. It may be made to saw wood, grind grain, 
cut roots, run the thresher, fanning mill, grind 




Fig. 82. Gasoline engine at work. 



fib 1 3 




- ' '■■;: ■_'"" ____ „__ 








t ■ : 


FARM POWE 
ENGINE, DYNAMO, C 


RINDER-.PU 3y|l 




MORSE 

- "5 SCALE. 



Fig. 83. Gasoline engine at work. 

stone, washing machine, churn, cream separa- 
tors, dynamos and pumps. In this book we are 



METHODS OF PUMPING 207 

interested chiefly in the gasoline engine as it is 
used to pump water. 

If a gasoline engine is to be purchased for a 
farm, it is well to get one of six or eight horse 
power, capable of doing any task about the 
farm, the pumping included. In many cases, 
however, it is desirable to have a small engine 
for pumping water and for doing other light 
work. An engine of from one to two horse 
power is excellent for this purpose. A number 
of these are illustrated in this chapter. 

How the gasoline engine works. The type of 
gasoline engine in general use on farms is called 
the four-cycle engine, because in every four 
strokes of the piston there is but one power 
stroke. Every engine is equipped with one or 
two heavy fly wheels. These heavy wheels are 
made to revolve rapidly by the power stroke 
and their momentum carries the load between 
power strokes. The working of the engine is 
illustrated in Pig. 84. It is as follows : — In (1) 
the fly wheel, is moving the piston down. This 
leaves a vacuum in the top of the cylinder, and 
the atmospheric pressure forces open the intake 
valve I and forces a mixture of gasoline va- 



208 



HOME WATERWORKS 



por and air into the cylinder, from the mixer, 
not shown in the figure. This downward mo- 
tion of the piston is called the charging stroke. 





COMPRESSION 
STROKE 




(2) (3) 

Fig. 84. Gasoline engine, one power stroke in every four strokes. 

In (2) the fly wheel is forcing the piston up 
again. The intake valve instantly closes and 
the mixture of gasoline vapor and air is com- 
pressed to about one fourth its volume. This 
upward motion of the piston is called the com- 
pression stroke. 

Just before the mixture is at its greatest com- 
pression an electric spark is produced in the cyl- 
inder by an automatic device, not shown in the 
figure. This spark ignites the mixture and the 
explosion or expansion produced causes a high 
pressure which forces the piston down. This 
downward motion of the piston is the power 
stroke or working stroke. It is shown in (3). 



METHODS OF PUMPING 



209 



In (4) the fly wheel is forcing the piston up 
again. At the beginning of this upward stroke 
the exhaust valve E is opened by an auto- 
matic device, and as the piston moves up, the 
burned gases are forced out of the cylinder. 
This upward motion of the piston is called the 
exhaust stroke. On the next downward motion 
of the piston the atmospheric pressure 
forces a fresh charge of gasoline vapor 
and air into the cylinder and the whole 
operation is repeated. 

Water-cooled and air-cooled 
engines. The mixture of gas- 
oline vapor and air burns at 
a very high temperature, and 
to prevent the cylinder from 
being overheated it is neces- 
sary to cool it by some arti- 
ficial means. In the water- 
cooled type of engine the 
cylinder is cooled by means of 
a water jacket, through which water circulates 
while the engine is running. In the air-cooled 
type the outer surface of the cylinder is made 
up of wide flanges which offer a large cooling 




Fig. 85 



Air-cooled 

engine. 



210 



HOME WATERWORKS 







surface* and the cylinder is cooled by radiation 
into the air. As the air near the cylinder is 
heated it expands and is forced up by the cooler 
air which takes its place. In some engines of 
this type, a small fan drives the cool air against 
the flanges and increases the cooling effect. 

The governor. If there 
g . v \ were no governing device 

on the gasoline engine, it 
would run away with a 
light load, that is, it 
would run so fast that 
the fly wheel would 
burst, unless, in- 
deed, some other 
part of the en- 
gine broke first. 
f\ The governor 
¥ of the gasoline 
engine is a cen- 
trifugal device 
on the fly wheel. In one class of engine the gov- 
ernor controls the speed as follows. When the 
speed of the fly wheel reaches a certain point, 
the governor automatically opens the exhaust 



. * 





Fig. 86. Air-cooled engine. 



METHODS OF PUMPING 211 

valve and holds it open. Then when the piston 
moves up and down, air moves in and out of 
the cylinder through the exhaust pipe, but the 
cylinder does not receive a charge of the ex- 
plosive mixture. As soon as the speed of the 
fly wheel falls below a certain point, the gov- 
ernor allows the exhaust valve to close, and on 
the next down stroke of the piston, a charge is 
drawn into the cylinder through the intake 
valve. The power strokes then continue to 
occur at their regular times until the speed of 
the fly wheel again reaches the point at which 
the governor holds the exhaust valve open. 

In another class of engine, the governor con- 
trols a throttle valve in such a way that it cuts 
down the supply of gasoline when the speed be- 
comes too great and increases the supply as the 
speed decreases. When properly adjusted, this 
form of governor keeps the speed of the engine 
nearly constant. 

Gasoline engine and 'pump. The ordinary 
pump is connected to the engine by gears be- 
cause the engine works more rapidly than the 
pump ; for example, the two-horse-power engine 
makes from three hundred and fifty to five hun- 



212 HOME WATERWORKS 

dred revolutions per minute, while the ordinary 
pump works at forty strokes or less per minute. 
For this reason the pump is connected to the 
engine by some form of pump jack which is 
back-geared. 




Fig. 87. Water-cooled engine geared to walking-beam pump jack. 

If the pump works best at forty strokes per 
minute and the engine makes four hundred revo- 
lutions per minute, the jack must be back-geared 
one in ten, that is, the gearing must be such, 
that, while the engine is making ten revolutions, 



METHODS OF PUMPING 



213 




Fig. 88. Gasoline engine geared to horizontal pump jack. 

the pump makes one complete stroke. An ad- 
vantage of this back gearing is that the engine 
can lift a heavier load on the pnmp piston than 
it could if it were directly connected — with a 
back gearing of one in ten, ten times the load. 

Botary pumps may be connected directly to 
the engine. Those of small size run 
at a speed of from one hundred to 
two hundred revolutions per minute 
and are usually 
belt connected, 
but those of 
larger size, the 
fire pumps, run 

at three hundred Fig. 89. Belt-driven pump jack. 




214 



HOME WATEEWOEKS 



and fifty revolutions per minute and over, and 
are usually connected directly to the engine. 
The direct connection is made by gears or by 
placing the pump on the main axle of the en- 
gine. 

Centrifugal pumps also may be connected di- 
rectly to the gasoline engine ; they vary in speed 
from one hundred and fifty to over two thou- 
sand revolutions per minute. When these 

pumps are run in 
connection with 
other machinery, 
they are usually 
belt connected; but 
when they are run 
by a separate gaso- 
line engine, they are 
generally direct con- 
nected. 

A dvantages of 
the gasoline engine. 
The gasoline engine 

Fig. 90. Gasoline engine operating , -, 

shaiiow-weii pump. has many advan- 

tages as a pumping engine and as the source of 
power for other farm work. Some of these ad- 




METHODS OF PUMPING 



215 




vantages are as follows: — It does not require 
the service of a trained engineer. Any man of 
ordinary intelli- 
gence can learn 
to run it in half 
a day or less, 
and learn to 
master it in two 
or three days, 
especially if he 
takes it apart and learns the 
use of each part from an in- 
struction sheet or otherwise. 
Like any other machine, the 

more intelligent care given to Fig. 91. Gasoline en- 
gine operating deep- 
it, the better work it will do. wel1 P um P- 

It is made in units of smaller horse power than 

the steam engine. It weighs less per horse 

power and can readily be shifted from one 

place to another as the work requires. There 

is no steam gauge to watch; no boiler to keep 

supplied with water; no ash to handle and the 

handling of fuel is limited to filling the fuel 

tank. It can be started in a few seconds; it 

gives more power than the steam engine for 



216 HOME WATERWORKS 

the same amount of fuel; and it will run all 
day without any attention whatever. It can- 
not possibly blow up. There is no danger of 
fire if the exhaust is properly guarded, and if 
the water is drained out of the water jacket 
and tank, there is nothing to freeze. 

Compared to the windmill it is more power- 
ful and is independent of the weather. The 
windmill has the advantage, however, that it 
requires no fuel. 

Compared to a horse, it has the advantage 
that it will work without attendance and as 
soon as the work is done the expense stops, 
while a horse requires a driver and must be fed 
whether it is working or not. The horse has the 
advantage that for a short time it can work at 
the rate of five and even ten horse power, while 
an engine of one horse power can work at the 
rate of one horse power and no more. For 
this reason, it is advisable in purchasing an 
engine to get one of sufficient power to do the 
heaviest work that is likely to be required of it. 
The expense for fuel is nearly in proportion to 
the work done ; for example, if a six-horse-power' 
engine is working at the rate of only one horse 



METHODS OF PUMPING 217 

power, the gasoline used is only a trifle more 
than that required to run a one horse power 
engine. The horse can do many tasks that a 
gasoline engine cannot conveniently do, but on 
the other hand, there are many forms of work 
more easily done by an engine than by a horse, 
as, for example, running all kinds of stationary 
machinery. As to the relative expense, a horse 
does a day's work — ten horse power hours of 
work — at a cost of about thirty-five cents, for 
food and care in stable. A gasoline engine, us- 
ing one pint of gasoline per horse power per 
hour, does ten horse power hours of work at a 
cost of twenty 
cents with gaso- 
1 i n e at sixteen 
cents a gallon. 

Prices. To 
give the reader 

an idea Of the Fig ' 92 ' Porta ^ le engine at work. 

cost of gasoline engines the following prices are 
quoted from the catalogue of manufacturers 
who sell direct from the factory to the con- 
sumer. 
1 Horse power $53.50; 2% H. P. $78.50; 5 H. 




218 



HOME WATERWORKS 



P. $119.50; 7% H. P. $205; 10 H. P. $265; 15 
H. P. $350. 

The Steam Engine. The steam engine is 
rarely used exclusively for pumping water ex- 
cept in large municipal pumping plants. In 
many villages and towns, however, there are 




Fig. 93. Gasoline engine operating a pneumatic tank. 



factories with steam power, which might easily 
be equipped to supply a whole section of the 
town or village with running water. One 
method of doing this is to instal a pump and 
elevated or pneumatic tank at the factory, with 
piping to the houses, or, if the factory runs 
night and day, a steam pump with an automatic 



METHODS OF PUMPING 219 

control valve may be used to pump directly into 
the supply pipe ; the automatic valve is set for a 
certain pressure and it stops and starts the 
pump when the pressure goes slightly above or 
below this pressure. Any such pumping ar- 
rangement would be profitable to the factory 
as well as to the householders. The factory en- 
gineer could look after the pumping and since 
there would thus be no extra outlay in wages 
the revenue would be nearly clear gain to the 
factory. The householders also would receive 
a water service at less trouble and expense than 
if each had an individual water-supply system. 
On farms which have steam power, the equip- 
ment for water supply is also a simple matter. 
The steam engine may be used with any form of 
pump, and is connected to it by means of a 
pump jack or belt and pulleys. If there is only 
a steam boiler, as in some dairies and cheese 
factories, the boiler may be connected directly 
to a steam pump. 

Prices. Vertical boilers connected to verti- 
cal engines are advertised at the following 
prices : two-horse-power boiler with one and one- 
half horse-power engine, $103; three-horse- 



220 HOME WATERWOEKS 

power boiler with two-horse-power engine, 
$122 ; four-horse-power boiler with three-horse- 
power engine, $141. 



CHAPTER XVI 
METHODS OF PUMPING 

THE ELECTRIC MOTOR 

Where the electric current is available, the 
most convenient method of pumping water is 
by means of an electric motor. It may be made 
automatic in its action and after being once 
adjusted needs very little attention. 

It would take more space than is available 
in this book, to give a detailed explanation of 
the working of the electric motor. In general, 
it may be said that an electric current is run 
into the motor and produces a rotary motion of 
the moving part of the motor, and this rotary 
motion is turned into a reciprocating, or to-and- 
fro motion, by means of a pump jack which 
operates the pump. The current is produced in 
a dynamo and the dynamo in turn is driven by 
means of a steam, gas, or gasoline engine, or by 
water power. The source of the electricity is, 

221 



222 HOME WATERWORKS 

then, the energy contained in fuel or in running 
water. 

If we start at the fuel or running water, the 
operation, step by step, is as follows: the 
energy of the fuel or running water drives the 
engine or water motor; the engine or water 
motor runs the dynamo and an electric current 
is produced; this electric current is carried 
on wires to the motor and produces a rotary 
motion in the motor; the rotary motion may 
be used directly to drive centrifugal and screw 
pumps, or may be turned into a reciprocating 
motion by means of a pump jack, to drive an 
ordinary pump. 

To the beginner in electricity the chief diffi- 
culty is not so much to learn how the various 
electrical machines work, as it is to get a clear 
notion of the meaning of the various terms used. 
Electricity is a comparatively new science and, 
of necessity, there have been a number of new 
terms introduced. Some of these terms are 
volt, coulomb, ampere, joule, watt. These are 
derived from the names of distinguished scien- 
tists and do not in themselves convey any mean- 
ing. A fair working knowledge of their mean- 



METHODS OF PUMPING 223 

ing may be obtained, however, by comparing the 
work done by an electric current, with that done 
by a current of water, as for example, at a 
waterfall. 

In English- speaking countries we measure 
work in foot-pounds. When 1 lb. weight is 
raised 1 foot, 1 foot-pound of work is done. 
When 2 lbs. is raised 5 feet, or 5 lbs. 2 feet, 10 
foot-pounds of work are done, etc.; also if a 
2 lb. weight can fall 5 feet, it is capable of doing 
10 foot-pounds of work, etc. 

To measure the work which may be done 
by a waterfall we measure the height of the 
fall and the weight of water that passes over 
it per second. For example, if the height of 
the fall is 20 feet, and 55 pounds of water pass 
over it per second, it is capable of doing 20 X 
55, or 1,100, foot-pounds of work each second. 
Also we measure the rate of working in horse 
powers. If any engine can do 33,000 foot- 
pounds of work each minute, or 550 foot-pounds 
each second, we say that it is capable of working 
at the rate of 1 horse power. A waterfall 20 
feet high, over which 55 lbs. of water pass each 
second, can do 1,100 foot-pounds of work per 



224 HOME WATERWORKS 

second, and is capable of working a,t the rate of 
^nor 2 horse powers. 

In measuring the work that an electric cur- 
rent can do, the volt corresponds to the foot 
used to measure the fall. The coulomb meas- 
ures the quantity of electricity and corresponds 
to the pound which measures the quantity of 
water. If 1 coulomb of electricity passes along 
a wire in 1 second the current is said to be 
flowing at the rate of 1 ampere, 10 coulombs 
a second is a 10-ampere current, 10 coulombs 
in 5 seconds is only a 2-ampere current, be- 
cause only 2 coulombs pass any point in 1 sec- 
ond. When 1 pound falls 1 foot it does 1 foot- 
pound of work. When 1 coulomb falls 1 volt, it 
does 1 joule of work, that is, the joule is a cer- 
tain amount of work, just as the foot-pound is a 
certain amount of work. When the current 
does 1 joule of work each second, it is working 
at the rate of 1 watt ; that is, the watt is used to 
measure the rate of working and is similar to 
horse power, which is a rate of working. If 50 
joules of work are done in 1 second the rate of 
working is 50 watts. If 50 joules are done in 5 
seconds the rate is only 10 watts or 10 joules 



METHODS OF PUMPING 225 

per second. It must not be understood that a 
volt is equal to a foot, or a coulomb to a pound, 
etc. The volt, coulomb, etc., are simply used to 
measure electrical power in the same way that 
the foot, the pound, etc., are used to measure 
water power. 

In ordering an electric motor for pumping 
purposes, it is necessary to let the manufactur- 
ers know the quantity of water to be pumped, 
the depth of the well, the height the water is to 
be lifted into an elevated tank, or the pressure 
against which it must pump into a pneumatic 
tank. They must also know the voltage of the 
electric current used; whether the current is di- 
rect or alternating ; if alternating, whether it is 
one-, two- or three-phase; and also the number 
of cycles. Information about the electric cur- 
rent should be obtained from the electric com- 
pany that furnishes the current. 

There are two kinds of electric current, the 
direct and the alternating. The direct current 
is one in which the electricity flows in the same 
direction all the time. The alternating current 
is one in which the direction in which the elec- 
tricity flows is reversed many times in a second. 



226 HOME WATERWORKS 

The number of reversals per second is known as 
the frequency or the cycles. Some dynamos 
produce one alternating current, some two and 
others three, and these currents are known as 
one-phase, two-phase and three-phase currents 
respectively. The two- and three-phase cur- 
rents are generally used to run alternating 
current motors. 




Fig. 94. Motor-driven pump. 

The electric motor runs at a speed of about 
one thousand six hundred revolutions per min- 
ute and the ordinary pump about forty strokes 
per minute; therefore in connecting the pump 
to the motor a back gearing of about one in 
forty is required, so that the motor makes forty 
revolutions for each complete stroke of the 
pump. In the pump shown in Fig. 94 the back 
gearing is a worm gear which works in an oil 
bath. The worm gear is a compact form of 



METHODS OF PUMPING 



227 



back gearing and the oil bath serves to keep the 
gear lubricated and also makes it practically 
noiseless. 

Fig. 95 is an illustration of a pneumatic- 
tank outfit in which an electric motor and pump 
are used to pump water or water and air into 
the tank. 



:;.'■. ,■■■■/. ■;:■:: : $%'\!!& :'■: ^r-- ' '■■ ' "■"■■ 




Fig. 95. Motor-driven pump operating a pneumatic tank. 

Automatic switches. The electric motor 
may be started and stopped by a hand switch or 
by an automatic switch. The automatic system 
is extremely convenient, as, after it is once ad- 
justed, a constant water supply is maintained 
with practically no attention. 

One form of automatic switch, used in open 
tanks, is shown in Fig. 96; a spherical copper 



228 



HOME WATERWORKS 



ball floats on the water in the tank and is con- 
nected to the motor switch by a chain which 
has a weight at the other end. When the level 
falls to a certain point, the lever of the switch 
is forced up by the weight of the ball. This 





2 £ Pulleys 




yv~A 






K-" 7"- — =3 

Fig. 96. Automatic switch for open tanks. 

closes the electric circuit and the motor starts 
pumping. When the level is raised to a cer- 
tain point, the lever is pulled down by the 
weight and the motor stops. With such a 
switch, the water level does not vary by more 
than five or six inches. 



METHODS OF PUMPING 229 

One form of automatic switch, used on closed 
pneumatic tanks, is shown in Fig. 97. When 
the pressure in the tank reaches a certain 
amount the switch is forced open and the motor 
stops. When the pressure falls below a cer- 
tain amount the spring forces 
the lever back and the motor 
starts pumping again. With 
this switch, the air in the 
tank is kept within a few 
pounds of a certain pressure, 
and the only time the system 
needs attention is when air 
is pumped in, about once a 
week. In some outfits, ■ the 

Fig. 97. Automatic 

trouble of looking after the f wi , tch for closed 

° tanks. 

air supply is done away with by means of a 
float placed in the tank; it is so arranged that 
when the air supply is decreased to a certain 
amount, the float opens the air-cock in the suc- 
tion pipe and air is pumped in with the water; 
and when the air supply is increased to the 
correct amount, the float closes the air-cock 
again. 
A convenient system. The electric motor 




230 HOME WATERWOBKS 

has many advantages as a pumping engine. 
The most important is the small amount of at- 
tention required. Closing a switch starts it and 
opening the switch stops it, and when this is 
done automatically there is practically noth- 
ing to do, as most motors are self-oiling. An- 
other advantage of the automatic system is that 
a very much smaller tank may be used since 
the water level never falls below a certain 
mark. The motor takes up little space, it is 
clean, and there is no handling of ashes or fuel. 
It is practically noiseless, and when connected 
to a noiseless pump makes a very desirable 
combination for use in the house. 






CHAPTER XVII 
WATER POWER 

There are three types of engines driven by 
water power, namely, water pressure engines; 
water wheels ; and turbines. 

The water-pressure engine works very much 
like a steam engine. It uses water under pres- 
sure in much the same way that a steam en- 
gine uses steam under pressure. There is a 
piston which moves back and forth in a cyl- 
inder. Valves operated by an eccentric admit 
the water first at one end of the cylinder and 
the piston is driven forward, then at the op- 
posite end and it is driven back. While the 
water under pressure is being admitted at 
one end, the spent water is forced out at the 
other. The piston thus has a reciprocating 
motion and may be used to pump water from 
a well or cistern into an elevated tank. 

One form of this engine known as the " water 
lift" is a water-pressure engine and pump 

231 



232 HOME WATERWORKS 

combined. Those on the market work with 
water at fifteen pounds pressure or over. In 
cities where the water supplied by the municipal 
plant is very hard, the water lift is in general 
use to pump soft water for washing purposes, 
from a cistern into an elevated tank. 

The water lift can also be used in the country 
where water with sufficient pressure is avail- 
able. We learned in the chapter on the pneu- 
matic water-supply system that water 2.3 feet 
deep exerts a pressure of 1 lb. per square inch. 
According to this, 15 lbs. pressure requires a 
depth of 34% feet. If then water with a 
fall of 35 feet or over is available the water 
lift may be used to pump water from a well 
or cistern into an elevated tank. 

A No. 4 water lift costs $32.00, uses 200 gal- 
lons of water per hour at a pressure of 15 lbs., 
and will lift 100 gallons per hour to a height 
of fifty feet. The price does not include 
cost of pipe. Three-quarter inch piping at 
5 cents per foot is used for supply, waste, suc- 
tion and discharge. 

If a water supply 35 feet high is fit for drink- 
ing, and is above the level of the house and 



WATER POWER 233 

stables, the simplest method, -of course, is to 
pipe it directly to the house and stables. If 
it is below the level of the house a hy- 
draulic ram is the simplest and cheapest 
method of pumping it. If, however, the water 
is very hard, it may be piped to the house and 
part of it used as drinking- water, and part of it 
used to run the water lift to pump soft water 
for use in the bath and laundry. 

Water wheels. The term waterwheel ap- 
plies to water motors which receive the force 
of the water only on one side of the circum- 
ference of the runner, and the term turbine to 
those which are acted on by the water at all 
points of the circumference of the runner at the 
same time. 

The waterwheel is used extensively in the 
West as a pumping engine for irrigating pur- 
poses. It is also used to some extent in both 
the East and West as a source of power for all 
forms of farm machinery. There are four 
types of water wheels: the undershot wheel; 
the breast wheel; the overshot wheel; and the 
impulse wheel. 

The undershot wheel is used where the river 



234 HOME WATERWORKS 

has a slight fall. It is made of a series of 
paddles attached to a horizontal axle, very 
much like the paddle wheel of a steamboat 
(see Fig. 98). When used in a large stream to 
pump water, it is placed between two pontoons 



UNDERSHOT WHEEL BREAST WHEEL OVERSHOT WHEEI, 
Fig. 98. Waterwheels. 

anchored in the stream, and the water is either 
lifted in buckets attached to the wheel, or by 
means of an ordinary pump attached to the end 
of the axle by a crank and pitman. When 
used in small streams, the stream is generally 
narrowed to the size of the wheel. 

If the fall in a small stream is only a few feet, 
a breast wheel is generally used (see Fig. 98). 
The water meets the paddles at the level of the 
axle and exerts a force due partly to its 
weight and partly to its velocity. 

In the overshot wheel the paddles are made 
in the form of buckets (see Fig. 98). These are 
filled with water when at the top of the wheel 



WATER POWER 



235 



and emptied when at the bottom. The water 
exerts a force due to its weight only. 

Impulse wheel. The two types of water 
motor in most common use are the impulse 
wheel, such as the Pelton wheel shown in Figs. 
99 and 100, and the turbine wheel, such as the 
Leffel wheel shown in Figs. 101 and 102. The 
Pelton wheel is 
a high-head 
wheel. It uses 
a small quantity 
of water at a 
high head. The 
turbine wheel 
uses a large 
quantity of water at a low head. The Pelton 
is used on heads from twenty feet to over two 
thousand feet and the turbine on heads from 
three to one hundred and fifty feet or over. 
The Pelton is a steel or cast-iron wheel with 
curved buckets attached to the rim. The water 
is carried to the wheel in a sheet steel pipe 
and is discharged tangentially into the buckets 
through a small nozzle. The water strikes the 
buckets and is curved around so that when it 




Fig. 99. The Pelton wheel 



236 HOME WATERWORKS 

leaves them, it has no velocity relative to the 
earth, but relative to the buckets it is moving 
in the opposite direction to that at which it 
entered them. It is found that this wheel is 
most efficient when it moves at one-half the 
absolute velocity of the jet. On a head of one 
hundred feet the absolute velocity of the jet 
is eighty feet per second. If the buckets are 
moving with a velocity of forty feet per second, 
the water enters the buckets with a velocity, 
relative to them, of forty feet per second. This 
velocity is reversed and the water is given a 
backward velocity of forty feet per second rela- 
tive to the buckets, but this is a velocity of zero, 
relative to the earth. 

It is a maxim in hydraulics that the water 
moving into a motor should " enter without 
shock and leave without velocity." We have 
seen how the water leaves the buckets without 
velocity. It enters them without shock be- 
cause it enters at the outer edge when this 
edge is almost parallel to the direction in which 
the jet is moving. The water is split by the 
middle partition and each half is directed back- 
wards and also a little to one side so that it does 




WATER POWER 237 

not interfere with the movement of the next 
bucket (see Fig. 100). The Pelton is very com- 
pact and gives a large amount of power from a 
small quantity of water on a high head ; for ex- 
ample, a wheel 
only two feet in 
diameter on a 
head of one hun- 
dred feet gives 
about six horse 

Fig. 100. Nozzle, jet and buckets of 

power, uses Pelton wheel - 

forty-seven cubic feet of water per minute, and 
makes three hundred and fifty revolutions per 
minute. 

The turbine. The turbine uses a large 
amount of water on low heads. The water is 
admitted at all points of the circumference 
through guides which may be opened or 
closed. There are three types of turbines, 
namely, the inward, the outward, and the 
downward discharge. The names refer to the 
direction in which- the water moves. In the 
inward-discharge turbine the water enters at 
the outer circumference of the wheel and leaves 
at the inner. In the outward-discharge the 



238 HOME WATERWORKS 

reverse, and in the downward-discharge the 
water enters at the top and leaves at the bot- 
tom. The guides are curved in such a manner 
that the water leaves them, and enters the 
blades, in the direction in which the blades are 
moving. The blades are curved in such a man- 





Fig. 101. The Samson runner. Fig. 102. The Samson turbine. 

ner that the direction of the water is reversed 
as it passes through them, and when it leaves 
them it has only a small velocity relative to the 
earth. 

The runner of the Samson turbine (Fig. 101) 
has two distinct types of wheels joined in one. 
Each part of the wheel receives its separate 
quantity of water from the guides. The* upper 



WATER POWER 239 

is an inward-discharge wheel and the lower an 
inward and downward discharge wheel. The 
runner is placed inside a guide casing, as shown 
in Fig. 102. The small vertical shaft at one 
side is used to open and close the guides. The 
complete wheel is placed in a penstock just 
above the tailrace. The water enters the pen- 
stock from the channel above, passes through 
the guides, exerts its force on the runner and 
passes out through the tailrace. A Samson 
turbine is compact and powerful. A turbine 
with twenty-four-inch runner develops over six 
horse power on a five-foot head. It uses nine 
hundred cubic feet of water per minute, and 
makes two hundred and eight revolutions per 
minute. 

To find the horse power of a stream. Any 
machine is working at the rate of 1 horse 
power when it does 33,000 foot-pounds of work 
each minute. To calculate the rate at which 
a stream may be made to do work, it is nec- 
essary to know the weight of water that flows 
past any point in a minute and the number 
of feet fall. For example, if one thousand one 
hundred lbs. of water per minute fall 40 feet the 



240 HOME WATERWORKS 

stream is capable of doing 44,000 foot-pounds 
of work per minute, or its rate of working is 
|^ = iy 3 horse power. 

To find the height of fall, the vertical distance 
from the lowest point to the highest point avail- 
able is measured in feet. There are different 
methods of measuring the rate of flow of water. 
In large streams the velocity may be measured 
as follows : — Choose a part of the stream where 
the banks are nearly straight and parallel; 
measure the distance between two points on the 
bank; place chips of wood in the center of the 
stream and find the time it takes them to trav- 
erse the distance between the stakes. Take the 
average of four or five measurements and find 
the distance traveled per minute in feet. The 
velocity of the water in the center and at the 
surface is more rapid than that at the sides and 
bottom. Engineers tell us that the mean ve- 
locity of the stream is eighty-three hundredths 
of the velocity at the center and surface. 

To find the cross section of a stream, a point 
where the sides are straight and parallel is 
chosen, and stakes are driven at equal distances 
across the stream, the end stakes being a half 



WATER POWER 241 

space from the banks; for example, if the 
stakes are eight feet apart, the end stakes are 
four feet from the bank on each side. The 
depth at each stake is taken, these are added 
together and divided by the number of stakes, 
which gives the average depth; this average 
depth is 1 then multiplied by the width of the 
stream from bank to bank, and the product 
is the area of cross section of the stream in 
square feet. 

When we have found the fall, the velocity, and 
the area of cross section of the stream, we find 
the horse power of the stream as follows. The 
area is multiplied by the velocity in feet per 
minute and gives the quantity of water in cubic 
feet which flows past any point per minute. A 
cubic foot of water weighs sixty-two and one- 
half pounds. If the total number of cubic feet 
per minute is multiplied by sixty-two and one- 
half, the result is the weight of water in 
pounds that flows past any point in a minute. 
If this weight in pounds is multiplied by the 
feet fall and divided by 33,000 the result is 
the horse power of the stream. Example: if 
a stream is 40 feet wide: with an average 



242 HOME WATERWORKS 

depth of 3 feet, a mean velocity of 22 feet per 
minute, and a fall of 10 feet, its horse power 
is as follows: — ■ 

40 x 3 x 22 x Q2% x 10 ca it p 

An estimate of the power of a small stream 
may be made in the manner described above 
for large streams. Two more accurate meth- 
ods, the weir method and the miner's inch, 
are carefully described in the catalogues of 
manufacturers of water-power equipment. 
(For names and addresses of these firms see list 
in the back of this book.) A stream should be 
measured in the late summer when the flow of 
water is least, and after the measurement of 
horse power is made as above, it is well to divide 
the number by two, as there is always a certain 
amount of power lost and it is well to be on the 
safe side. 

Water power on the farm. Water power is 
adapted to any kind of work that may be done 
by a steam or gasoline engine as, grinding 
grain, cutting roots, sawing wood, pumping 
water, etc. It may be used to run a dynamo 
to generate electricity to light the house and 



WATER POWER 243 

stables, and for power purposes. In some cases 
a number of farmers club together to instal an 
electric plant large enough to light all their 
homes and barns. In the daytime the current 
is used to do other work by means of electric 
motors. Before such an enterprise is under- 
taken, the whole question should be gone into 
with the manufacturers of water-power equip- 
ment, or with manufacturers of electric equip- 
ment, to see what may be expected, what the 
cost will be, and what results the manufacturers 
will guarantee. 

In Chapters XII to XVII, the different meth- 
ods of pumping - water have been described, 
namely, by hand power, horse power, windmill, 
hydraulic ram, hot air engine, gasoline engine, 
steam engine, electric motor, and water motor. 
Under given conditions one of these is the best 
to use ; the descriptions given in these chapters 
will help the reader to decide which method of 
pumping is the best to use under the conditions 
in which he finds himself. 



CHAPTER XVHI 

PLUMBING AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL 

In this series of books, there is one on 
"Health on the Farm" which deals with plumb- 
ing appliances. This chapter is therefore lim- 
ited to the discussion of a few general points. 

Hot water supply. The working of the hot- 
water tank described in Chapter II depends on 
the fact that when water is heated it expands, 
and therefore, volume for volume, hot water is 
lighter than cold water. 

If a pipe such as that shown in Fig. 103 is 
filled with water and heated on one side, the 
water on the heated side expands 
! and therefore, volume for volume, 
h is lighter than the cold water 

™ ^^ on the other side. The cold 
Fig. 103. water being heavier sinks down 
and forces the hot water to the top; this cold 
water in turn becomes heated and is forced up 
by more cold water. The water on the un- 

244 




PLUMBING 245 

heated side is always colder than that on the 
heated side, therefore it is always somewhat 
heavier. As long as one side is heated the 
cold water sinks and forces up the warmer 
water, and the circulation continues in the direc- 
tion shown by the arrows. 

This is precisely what takes place in the hot- 
water tank and water front. The water in 
the water front is heated by the fire in the 
kitchen stove. The cooler heavier water in the 
tank sinks down and forces the hot water to 
the top of the tank. The cold water is in turn 
heated and is forced up by cooler water from 
the tank. This circulation continues as long 
as there is a fire in the stove. When a hot- 
water tap is opened cold water from the storage 
tank sinks into the hot water tank and forces 
hot water from the top of the hot water tank 
through the hot water pipe and out at the 
tap. 

Bathroom equipment. The kitchen is the 
part of the home which should be first equipped 
with water-supply conveniences, because there 
the greatest saving in labor is made. A well- 
equipped bathroom, however, is a joy to every 



246 HOME WATEEWOEKS 

member of the family, and the cost of adding 
it to the home is not great, as will be seen from 
the prices quoted below. 

The bathroom may contain simply a bath tub 
with hot and cold water taps, or it may contain 
a bath tub and wash bowl, or bath tub, wash 
bowl and slop sink, or bath tub, wash bowl and 
water closet. If .the bathroom has no water 
closet, so that all the wastes are liquid, the drain 
pipe may empty into a tile drain such as the 
one described in Chapter II. In this case the 
drain should be made from seventy-five to one 
hundred feet long. The tile may be laid in a 
straight line or with a number of shorter branch 
lines. If there is a water closet the waste must 
be taken care of by one or other of the methods 
described below. 

The method of connecting the bathroom fix- 
tures to the soil pipe, and the arrangement of 
the soil pipe are shown in Fig. 104. The waste 
pipe of each fixture is trapped before it enters 
the soil pipe, and the soil pipe is also trapped 
at some point between the fixtures and the cess- 
pool or septic tank. The latter trap is not nec- 
essary if the end of the soil pipe curves down 



PLUMBING 



247 



, ROOF VENT 



below the liquid in the septic tank or tight cess- 
pool as shown in Fig. 105. 

To ventilate the soil pipe, a fresh air inlet 
pipe is connected t o 
it, at some point be- 
tween the house fix- 
tures and the soil pipe 
trap, and the soil pipe 
is extended up above 
the roof and left open 
at the top. In cold 
climates the soil pipe 
trap and inlet pipe 
connection are usually 
placed in the cellar, 
to avoid 
the danger X 
of the soil 



FRESH AIR INLET 
GROUND LINE 



VENTILATING PIPE 



- TO CESS POOL 
OR SEPTIC TANK 




pipe's be- 
ing frozen 
up by the 
cold air 

which enters the inlet pipe. In warm climates 
the soil pipe trap may be placed near the cess- 
pool or septic tank and the inlet pipe connection 



Fig. 104. 



Bathroom fixtures connected to 
soil pipe. 



248 HOME WATEEWOEKS 

at some point between the pipe and the house. 
The ventilation takes place as follows : — The 
soil pipe in the house is warm and the air in it 
is warmer and lighter than the air outside. 
The outer air being heavier sinks into the inlet 
pipe and forces the warm air up through the 
roof outlet. This cool air is in turn warmed 
and is forced up by more cold air from outside. 
In this way there is a constant circulation of 
air in the soil pipe, and both ends being open 
there is no chance for the sewer air to increase 
in pressure and force a way out through the 
soil pipe joints. On a warm summer day the 
outside air may be warmer than that in the 
house and in the soil pipe ; in that case the cir- 
culation would be in the opposite direction. 

Precautions, If a water closet is to be placed 
in the house, the services of an expert plumber 
should be secured. It is a difficult task to make 
the soil pipe joints tight and no one but an 
expert should attempt it. It was formerly the 
practice to place all piping in the partition walls, 
and to surround the bath tub, wash bowl and 
water closet with wood work. This, however, 
is no longer the case. All plumbing fixtures are 



PLUMBING 249 

now left as open as possible so that they may 
be easily kept clean and easily repaired. The 
soil pipe particularly should be left exposed to 
view at all points so that any leak may be easily 
detected. If it is placed in a partition a long 
narrow door should be left from top to bottom 
so that the pipe may be inspected from time to 
time. The soil pipe usually passes down into 
the cellar and out through the cellar wall. It 
should never be placed beneath the floor of the 
cellar and covered up, because if the joints 
should open through the settling of the house 
or otherwise, the air of the house would be con- 
taminated by sewer gas, and it would be diffi- 
cult to locate the leak. Where the soil pipe 
passes through the cellar wall, the opening in 
the wall should be large enough to leave a space 
on all sides of the pipe, so that, if the founda- 
tion settles a little, the pipe is not affected. 
The soil pipe should be as short and as straight 
as possible to avoid the danger of obstruction 
and to remove the waste in the shortest possible 
time. 

Prices, Bathroom outfits are advertised at 
$40. They consist of cast iron enameled bath 



250 HOME WATERWORKS 

tub, enameled iron wash bowl, water closet and 
flush tank; each complete with fixtures, such as 
taps, etc. The single items are advertised as 
follows: enameled iron bath tub complete, $20 
up ; enameled iron wash bowl complete, $10 up ; 
water closet and flush tank complete, $11.50 
up ; cast iron soil pipe is made in five foot 
lengths, and it is advertised as follows : 4-inch 
soil pipe, weighing 6y 2 lbs. per foot, 15 cents 
per foot; 4-inch soil pipe, weighing 13 lbs. per 
foot, 25 cents per foot. These prices will help 
the reader to estimate the cost of a bathroom 
equipment for his own home. For further par- 
ticulars he is advised to write for catalogues 
and retail prices to dealers in plumbing sup- 
plies. 

Sewage disposal. The disposal of sewage is 
accomplished in a number of ways. Some of 
these are: by discharge into a sewer; by dis- 
charge into running water ; by discharge into a 
cesspool; and by discharge into a septic tank. 
In villages and towns the best method is to dis- 
charge into a municipal sewer, if there is one. 
If there is a river or brook or larger body of 
water near, the sewage is usually discharged di- 



PLUMBING 251 

rectly into it. This is a bad practice because 
the sewage contaminates the water and unde- 
composed solid wastes are deposited along the 
banks or shore, and the river or lake shore is 
then a nuisance instead of a thing of beauty. 
If the sewage must be discharged into a body 
of water it should first pass through a cesspool 
or septic tank and then into the water. 

Cesspool. The cesspool is a hole dug in 
porous ground and lined with brick or stone 
dry set or with logs. The top is arched over 
with brick or concrete or simply covered with 
heavy timbers and earth. This method of sew- 
age disposal is condemned by sanitary engineers 
because the leachings are likely to contaminate 
the water supply. If this method is used the 
cesspool should be placed from seventy-five to 
one hundred feet from the house on the lower 
side and the well an equal distance from the 
house on the other side on high ground. 

A cesspool for the ordinary family of say 
six people is made ten feet square and ten feet 
deep; and to increase the distributing area, 
eight or ten drains are run out from the three 
sides farthest from the house. These drains 



252 



HOME WATERWORKS 



BOX DRAIN AROUND..T0P OF COBBLES 



are made of three inch tile laid with open 
joints ; they are about thirty feet long and are 
placed below the level of the soil pipe from the 
house. 

In one form of cesspool the sewage empties 
into a water-tight chamber which is surrounded 
on the sides and bottom by a layer of gravel two 
feet thick (see Fig. 105). Near the top of the 

water-tight chamber is 
an elbow of four-inch 
tile projecting below 
the surface of the 
liquid. When the 
chamber is filled with 
sewage the solid parti- 
cles float on the surface 
o r sink to the bot- 
tom. The elbow allows the liquid, but not the 
solids, to pass out of the water-tight chamber. 
The liquid flows from the elbow into a box 
drain which extends around the chamber above 
the gravel. This drain distributes the liquid 
over the gravel. The liquid percolates through 
the gravel and into the porous soil. In the 
soil the organic impurities are filtered out and 




COBBLE STONES 

Fig. 105. Watertight cesspool 



PLUMBING 



253 



are gradually destroyed by bacterial action. 
There is also strong bacterial action in the scum 
in the chamber. Anaerobic bacteria, which live 
without air, act on the solid organic matter in 
the scum and gradually liquify it. This pre- 
vents the accumulation of scum or sludge. 

The septic tank. The best method of dis- 
posing of sewage so far devised is by means 
of a septic tank. 

The septic tank system (Fig. 106) as com- 
monly built consists of a tank with two cham- 
bers and a tile drain such as that described in 
Chapter II. The sewage enters the first cham- 








iim^M^iMMM^M 



Fig. 106. The septic tank. 

ber and fills it to the level of the outlet C. In 
time a layer of scum forms on the top of this 
liquid. This scum is the home of millions of 
anaerobic bacteria, the action of which is to 
liquify all organic solid matter floating on the 
surface. The elbow C allows only the liquid 



254 HOME WATERWORKS 

to pass from A into the storage chamber B 
which is large enough to hold about twelve 
hours' sewage. When chamber B is filled to a 
certain height the siphon D automatically emp- 
ties it into the tile drain. The tile are laid with 
open joints about eight inches to one foot below 
the surface at a slope of about three to six 
inches in one hundred feet, either in a straight 
line or better in rows about six feet apart. The 
length of tile needed varies with the character of 
the soil. In porous sandy soil about one foot to 
the gallon of sewage in one discharge, in heavy 
clay about three feet to the gallon. The tile 
may be laid under a lawn, or better, between 
the rows of trees in an orchard. If used in an 
orchard it makes an ideal system of sewage dis- 
posal because the wastes are disposed of in a 
safe and inoffensive manner and also the fertil- 
izing value of the sewage is used to increase the 
yield of fruit. For a family of average size 
using five hundred gallons of water a day, each 
chamber of the septic tank should hold about 
three hundred gallons. Since a cubic foot con- 
tains seven and a half gallons, a chamber to 
hold three hundred gallons must have a capacity 



PLUMBING 255 

of three hundred divided by seven and a half or 
forty cubic feet. If we allow one foot of space 
above the liquid, each chamber would be five 
feet long by four feet wide by three feet deep, 
The tank may be made of plank but for a per- 
manent job it should be built of brick or stone 
set in cement with a lining of cement. 

In conclusion. In planning a water-supply 
system one should keep two points in mind: 
first, all rooms in which water pipes are placed 
must be kept warm in winter; second, the sew- 
age disposal system should be as carefully 
planned as the water-supply system. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

The writer wishes to thank his friend and 
former chief, Dr. James W. Eobertson, of Ot- 
tawa, Canada, for kindly consenting to write the 
introduction, and Professor Ernest Ingersoll of 
New York, and Arthur Allebone of Montreal, 
for valuable aid in revising the proof. 

The writer also tenders his thanks to the fol- 
lowing named firms for their kindness in lend- 
ing cuts for illustration, as follows : — 

Fig. 11. The Goulds Mfg. Co., Seneca Falls, 
N. Y. 

Fig. 13. Sears, Eoebuck & Co., Chicago, 111. 

Fig. 16. Fairbanks Morse Co., Chicago, 111. 

Fig. 21. J. Vanderleck, Macdonald College. 

Figs. 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42. F. E. My- 
ers & Bro., Ashland, Ohio. 

Figs. 43, 44. The Goulds Mfg. Co., Seneca 
Falls, N. Y. 

Figs. 45, 47. Ingersoll-Eand Co., New York. 

Fig. 48. Sears, Eoebuck & Co., Chicago, 111. 

257 



258 HOME WATERWOEKS 

Fig. 49. Stover Mfg. Co., Freeport, 111. 

Fig. 50. Andrews Heating Co., Minneapolis, 
Minn. 

Fig. 51. The Goulds Mfg. Co., Seneca Falls, 
N. Y. 

Figs. 52, 56. Leader Iron Works, Decatur, 
111. 

Figs. 54, 55. Kewanee Water Supply Co., 
Kewanee, 111. 

Fig. 59. The Goulds Mfg. Co., Seneca Falls, 
KY. 

Fig. 61. Montgomery Ward & Co., Chicago, 
HI. 

Fig. 62. Stover Mfg. Co., Freeport, El. 

Fig. 63. Flint & Walling, Kendallville, Ind. 

Figs. 64, 65. Sears, Roebuck & Co., Chicago, 
HI. 

Fig. 66. F. E. Myers & Bro., Ashland, Ohio. 

Fig. 67. Flint & Walling, Kendallville, Ind. 

Figs. 68, 69. Sears, Roebuck & Co., Chicago, 
111. 

Fig. 70. Montgomery Ward & Co., Chicago, 
111. 

Fig. 71. Fairbanks Morse Co., Chicago, 111. 

Fig. 72. F. E. Myers & Bro., Ashland, Ohio. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT 259 

Figs. 73, 74. The Goulds Mfg. Co., Seneca 
Falls, N. Y. 

Figs. 75, 76. Niagara Hydraulic Engine Co., 
New York. 

Fig. 77. Rumsey Co., Ltd., Seneca Falls, N. 
Y. 

Figs. 78, 79, 80, 81. American Machine Co., 
Newark, Delaware. 

Fig. 82. International Harvester Co., Chi- 
cago. 

Fig. 83. Fairbanks Morse Co., Chicago. 

Fig. 85. Fuller & Johnson Mfg. Co., Madi- 
son, Wis. 

Fig. 86. Gilson Mfg. Co., Fort Washington, 
Wis. 

Fig. 87. International Harvester Co., Chi- 
cago. 

Fig. 88. Fuller & Johnson Mfg. Co., Madi- 
son, Wis. 

Fig. 89. Gilson Mfg. Co., Fort Washington, 
Wis. 

Figs. 90, 91. Standard Pump & Engine Co., 
Cleveland, Ohio. 

Fig. 92. The William Galloway Co., Water- 
loo, Iowa. 



260 HOME WATEEWOEKS 

Fig. 93. Standard Pump & Engine Co., 
Cleveland, Ohio. 

Figs. 94, 96, 97. Fort Wayne Engineering & 
Mfg. Co., Fort Wayne, Ind. 

Fig. 95. Leader Iron Works, Decatur, 111. 

Figs. 99, 100. Pelton Water Wheel Co., New 
York. 

Figs. 101, 102. Jas. Leffel & Co., Springfield, 
Ohio. 

Fig. 104. Chicago House Wrecking Co., 
Chicago, 111. 



FIRMS 

DEALING IN 

WATER SUPPLY AND PLUMBING 
MATERIALS 

UNITED STATES 

PUMPS 

The American Well Works, Aurora, HI. 
The Deming Company, Salem, Ohio. 
The Goulds Manufacturing Co., Seneca Falls, 
N. Y. 
F. E. Myers & Bro., Ashland, Ohio. 

WINDMILLS, PUMPS AND TANKS 

The Aermotor Co., Chicago, 111. 

W. E. Caldwell Co., Louisville, Ky. 

Flint & Walling Manufacturing Co., Kendall- 

ville, Ind. 

Fairbanks Morse Co., Chicago, 111. 

Montgomery Ward & Co., Chicago, 111. 

Stover Manufacturing Co., Freeport, 111. 

Sears, Roebuck & Co., Chicago, 111. 

261 



262 HOME WATERWORKS 

GASOLINE ENGINES 

Abenaque Machine Works, Boston, Mass. 

Detroit Engine Works, Detroit, Michigan. 

Fairbanks Morse Co., Chicago, 111. 

Fuller & Johnson Mfg. Co., Madison, Wis. 

Gilson Mfg. Co., Fort Washington, Wis. 

The William Galloway Co., Waterloo, Iowa. 

International Harvester Co., Chicago, 111. 

Kewanee Water Supply Co., Kewanee, 111. 

Lunt Moss Co., Boston, Mass. 

Montgomery Ward & Co., Chicago, 111. 

Standard Pump and Engine Co., Cleveland, 
Ohio. 

Sears, Eoebuck & Co., Chicago, 111. 

Sherman & Smith Co., Independence, Iowa. 

Seager Engine Co., Lansing, Mich. 

Weber Gas Engine Co., Kansas City, Mo. 

The Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co., Waterloo, 
Iowa. 

HYDRAULIC RAMS 

The Goulds Manufacturing Co., Seneca Falls, 
N. Y. 
F. E. Myers & Bro., Ashland, Ohio. 
Montgomery Ward & Co., Chicago, 111. 



DEALEES IN SUPPLIES 263 

Niagara Hydraulic Engine Co., New York 
City. 
Power Specialty Co., New York City. 
Eumsey Co., Ltd., Seneca Falls, N. Y. 
Eife Engine Mfg. Co., New York. 
Sears, Eoebuck & Co., Chicago, 111. 

PNEUMATIC WATER SUPPLY 

Abenaque Machine Works, Boston, Mass. 

Andrews Heating Co., Minneapolis, Minn. 

C. A. Burton Water Supply Co., Kansas City, 
Mo. 

Chicago House Wrecking Co., Chicago, 111. 

Fort Wayne Engineering & Mfg. Co., Fort 
Wayne, Ind. 

Johnston Manufacturing Co., Kansas City, 
Mo. 

Kewanee Water Supply Co., Kewanee, HI. 

Leader Iron Works, Decatur, 111. 

Lunt Moss Co., Boston, Mass. 

Montgomery Ward & Co., Chicago, 111. 

Standard Pump & Engine Co., Cleveland, 
Ohio. 

Sears, Eoebuck & Co., Chicago, 111. 



264 HOME WATERWORKS 

HOT-AIE ENGINES 

American Machine Co., Newark, Delaware. 
Rider-Ericsson Engine Co., New York. 

ELECTRIC PUMPING ENGINES 

Fort Wayne Engineering & Mfg. Co., Fort 
Wayne, Ind. 

Fairbanks Morse Co., Chicago, 111. 

Jarvis Engine & Machine Works, Lansing, 
Mich. 

Kewanee Water Supply Co., Kewanee, HI. 

Leader Iron Works, Decatur, 111. 

AIR-LIFT PUMPS 

American Well Works, Aurora, HI. 
Hudson Engineering Co., New York. 
Ingersoll-Rand Co., New York. 

WATER WHEELS 

Jas. Lefrel Co., Springfield, Ohio. 
Pelton Water Wheel Co., New York. 

WELL-DRILLING MACHINERY 

Austin Manufacturing Co., Chicago, HI. 
American Well Works, Aurora, 111. 



DEALERS IN SUPPLIES 265 

PLUMBING 

Andrews Heating Co., Minneapolis, Minn. 
Chicago House Wrecking Co., Chicago, 111. 
B. Karol, Chicago, 111. 
Montgomery Ward & Co., Chicago, 111. 
Standard Sanitary Mfg. Co., Pittsburg, Pa. 
Sears, Roebuck & Co., Chicago, 111. 

SEPTIC TANKS 

Andrew Heating Co., Minneapolis, Minn. 
Ashley House-Sewage Disposal Co., Morgan 
Park, 111. 
Cameron Septic Tank Co., Chicago, HI. 
Modern Iron Works, Quincy, 111. 

CONCRETE 

Atlas Portland Cement Co., New York. 
CANADA 

WINDMILLS, GASOLINE ENGINES, PUMPS, TANKS, ETC. 

R. H. Buchanan & Co., Montreal, Que. 
Canadian Fairbanks Co., Montreal, Que. 
Robert Donaldson & Sons, Montreal, Que. 
Gould Shapley & Muir Co., Brantford, Ont. 



266 HOME WATERWORKS 

Ontario Wind Engine & Pump Co., Toronto, 
Ont. 
Paul Lair, Montreal, Que. 

GASOLINE ENGINES, PUMPS, ETC. 

Gilson Manufacturing Co., G-uelph, Ont. 
The Scott Machine Co., London, Ont. 

PLUMBING 

Thos. Robertson Co., Montreal, Que. 
The James Robertson Co., Ltd., Montreal, 
Que. 



INDEX 



Acknowledgment, 257. 

Air chamber, 91 et seq.; is 
absorbed, 143; lift pump, 
1 12 ; pressure of, 72 et seq. ; 
properties of, applied in 
pumps, 68 et seq.; weight 
of, 70 et seq. 

Atmosphere, pressure of, 72 
et seq. 

Automatic regulators on 
windmills, 167 ; switches, 
227; for open tanks, 228; 
closed tanks, 229. 



Bacterial action, 12, 34, 253. 
Bathroom equipment, 245 ; 

prices of, 249. 
Bath tubs, 246; prices of, 

249. 
Brooks, water from, 62, 63. 

C 

Cap, drive, 48. 
Cesspool, 251; tight, 252. 
Centrifugal pump, 110. 
Chain pump, 117. 



Cistern pump, 10; water, 65, 

66. 
Cylinders, deep well, 106. 

D 

Dealers in water supply and 
plumbing equipment, 261 et 
seq. 

Double acting ram, 188. 

Drain, 10. 

Drive cap, 48. 

Drive points, 48. 

Drive pipe of ram, 190. 

E 

Electric motor, 221; and 
pump, 226, 227; advan- 
tages of, 227. 

Electric switch, automatic, 
227; for open tank, 228; 
for closed tank, 229. 

Engine, Ericsson hot air, 193; 
gasoline, 204 et seq.; hot- 
air, 193; Niagara hydrau- 
lic, 185; Rider hot-air, 197; 
steam, 218. 

Ericsson hot-air engine, 193; 
sectional view of, 194; 



267 



268 



INDEX 



working of, 194; cost of, 
203. 
Experiments on air, 70 et seq. 

F 

Firms dealing in water sup- 
ply and plumbing equip- 
ment, 261 et seq. 

Force pump, 17, 18, 89, 90, 97, 
99, 101, 103, 104. 

Front, water, 21, 22. 

G 

Gallery near river or lake, 
64. 

Gases, Kinetic Theory of, 153 
et seq. 

Gasoline engine, 204; advan- 
tages of, 214; air cooled, 
209; and pump, 211; cost 
of, 217; cost of running, 
204; four cycle, 207; gov- 
ernor, 210; water cooled, 
209; working of, 207. 

Governor, windmill, 166; of 
gasoline engine, 210. 

Gravity water supply, 120. 

H 

Hand power, 159. 

Hillside, well on, 61, 62, 120. 

Horse power, 159; of stream, 
239. 

Hot-air engine, 193; Erics- 
son, 193, 194; cost of, 203; 
how to start, 201; Eider, 



197; working of Ericsson, 
194; Rider, 200. 

Hot water supply, 224. 

Hydraulic ram, 181 et seq.; 
at work, 182; double act- 
ing, 188; drive pipe of, 
190; how regulated, 187; 
location of, 190; prices of, 
191; sectional view of, 183, 
186; sniffling valve, 184; 
standard, 183, 189; water 
lifted by, 185. 

Hydrostatic paradox, 151. 



Impulse wheel, 235. 
Intake pipe, 62. 

J 
Jack, pump, 212. 

K 

Kinetic Theory of Gases, 153 
et seq.; facts explained by, 
155 et seq. 

Kitchen equipment, 8 et seq.; 
cistern water in, 10; run- 
ning water in, 14; well 
water in, 16. 



Lake, gallery near, 64; water 
from, 61, 63; well near, 64. 

Laundry tubs, 23; cost of, 
24. 

Lift pump, 85. 



INDEX 



269 



M 

Methods of pumping, 159 et 
seq., 181 et seq., 193 et seq., 
204 et seq., 221 et seq. 

Motor, electric, 221; and 
pump, 226, 227; advan- 
tages of, 229. 



Pipe, drive of ram, 190; in- 
take, 62; prices of, 10, 16, 
18, 22, 24. 

Plumbing, 8 et seq., 244, 247; 
precautions in installing, 
248; materials, firms deal- 
ing in, 261 et seq. 

Pneumatic tank, 132 et seq.; 
excess pressure in, 141; 
height water is raised by, 
138; windmill and, 177; 
system, advantages of, 144; 
cost of, 146; general view 
of, 133, 134; working of, 
135. 

Points, drive, 48. 

Pressure, atmospheric, 72 et 
seq.; excess air, 141; of 
water at tap, 139. 

Prices, 10, 16, 18, 22, 24, 130, 
131, 146, 180, 191. 

Pumping, methods of, 159 et 
seq., 181 et seq., 193 et seq., 
204 et seq., 221 et seq. 

Pumps and their action, 84 et 
seq. 

Pumps, air-lift, 112; air 
chamber on, 91 et seq.; 



branch pipe force, 101 ; cen- 
trifugal, 110; classes of, 
84; chain, 117; double act- 
ing, 104; force, 17, IS, 89, 
90, 97, 99, 101, 103, 104; 
house force, 97; how and 
why they work, 87; jack, 
212; lift, 85; pitcher, 10, 
96; rotary, 108; siphon 
force, 103; standard types 
of, 96 et seq.; well force, 
99; lift, 98. 

Q 

Quadrants, windmill, 176. 

R 

Rain water, 27 et seq.; Na- 
ture's purifiers of, 34; sep- 
arator, 66. 

Regulator, windmill, 167. 

Rider hot-air engine, 197 et 
seq. 

River, gallery near, 64; wa- 
ter from, 62, 63; well near, 
64. 

Running water, 120 et seq., 
132 et seq.; in kitchen, 16. 

S 

Septic tank, 253. 

Sewage disposal, 12, 244, 250. 

Sink, 10, 11. 

Siphon, 147 et seq.; force 

pump, 103; uses of, 149. 
Springs, 58; protection of, 

59; sources of water in, 31. 



270 



INDEX 



Steam engine, 228, 229. 

Storage tank, 17; windmill 
and, 174. 

Strata, impervious, 29; por- 
ous, 29. 

Switches, automatic, 229. 



Tank, dimensions of, 123 et 
seq.; elevated, 120 et seq.; 
elevation of, 127; hot wa- 
ter, 21, 22, 244; location 
of, 127; septic, 253; stor- 
age, 17 ; and windmill, 174 
supplied from eaves, 136 
weight of when full, 126 
prices of, 130. 

Taps, hot water, 21; prices 
of, 22, 23. 

Tubs, laundry, 23; cost of 
laundry, 24. 

Turbines, 237. 



Valve, foot, 16. 

W 

Wash bowl, 246. 

Water, cistern, 65, 66. 

Water closet, 264; front, 21, 
22,' 244; from springs, 
brooks, rivers, and lakes, 
58 et seq.; gravity supply, 
120; gallons of, needed per 



day, 122; lift, 233; lifted 
by hydraulic ram, 185; Na- 
ture's purifiers of, - 34; 
power, 231 et seq.; on farm, 
242; running, 120 et seq., 
132 et seq.; sources of, in 
wells and springs, 31 et 
seq. ; supply materials, 
dealers in, 261 et seq.; un- 
derground, 29; wheels, 233. 

Weight of air, 72 et seq.; 
water, 126, 127. 

Well, artesian, 33; drilled, 52 
et seq.; driven, 44 et seq.; 
dug, 36 et seq.; errors in 
locating, 39; good dug, 40- 
42; how to know a poor 
dug, 37, 38; near river or 
lake, 64; on hillside, 61, 
62, 120; poor dug, 36; 
sources of water in, 31; 
with pump in position, 36. 

Wheels, impulse, 235; water, 
233. 

Windmill, 161 et seq.; and 
pneumatic tank, 177; and 
storage tank, 174; care of, 
179; governor, 166; power 
of, 164; prices of, 180; 
quadrants, 176; regulator, 
167; speed of, 162; tower, 
171; cost of, 180. 



Y, lateral, 18. 



MAfit 30 191 1 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 

MAfi 30 1911 



